F1 Team Form: Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka

Red Bull have won the last two Suzuka races, with Mercedes having won all six Japanese Grands Prix before 2022. Ferrari have not taken victory here since 2004, while the former Sauber team have gone the longest without scoring. Here’s everything you need to know about each team’s history at the Japanese Grand Prix!

RED BULL

WINS: 6, POLES: 7, PODIUMS: 15 | 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: VERSTAPPEN 1st, PEREZ DNF

Between 2009 and 2013, Red Bull scored four wins at the Suzuka circuit. Max Verstappen supplied the team with their fifth Japanese Grand Prix win in 2022 and took the title as a result of his win. He won the race again in 2023, with his result securing Red Bull a sixth Constructors’ Championship victory.

With Sergio Perez joining Verstappen in the top two at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull recorded their third 1-2 finish at Suzuka.

2019 marked the first time since 2015 that neither driver finished on the podium at the Japanese Grand Prix. While Max Verstappen retired, Alex Albon finished fourth. 2014 is the only other occasion in the last 13 Japanese Grand Prix weekends that neither Red Bull driver has finished in the top three.

2006 and 2015 are the only years in which Red Bull have left Suzuka having not scored a point, while Verstappen’s DNF in 2019 was their first since David Coulthard’s retirement with gearbox problems in 2006. Perez recorded the team’s third DNF at Suzuka in 2023.

Red Bull leading at Suzuka in the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen’s pole at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix was Red Bull’s first at Suzuka in nine years. He went on to start from the front of the grid again in 2023.

In the last 12 Suzuka races, Daniel Ricciardo’s Q2 exit in 2018 is the only time a Red Bull has failed to reach Q3. The team took five consecutive pole positions at the track between 2009 and 2013, and locked-out the front row in 2010, 2012 and 2013.

MERCEDES

WINS: 6, POLES: 5, PODIUMS: 11 | 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: HAMILTON 5th, RUSSELL 7th

Mercedes won all six Japanese Grands Prix held between 2014 and 2019 and secured 1-2 finishes in 2014, 2015 and 2018. Valtteri Bottas’ fourth place finish in 2017 was the only time a Mercedes driver has failed to finish on the podium at Suzuka in the hybrid era until 2022, when both drivers finished outside of the top four. Neither finished in the top four again in 2023.

Since Mercedes returned to the sport in 2010, 2012 is the only season where both Mercedes drivers have failed to score at the track, with Michael Schumacher finishing 11th and Nico Rosberg retiring. Rosberg’s crash in 2010 and Lewis Hamilton’s early exit from the 2013 race are Mercedes’ only other retirements here.

George Russell, Mercedes, 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka.

Mercedes locked-out the front row in qualifying at Suzuka in every season between 2014 and 2018, but neither Lewis Hamilton nor Valtteri Bottas qualified on the front row in 2019 and neither of the team’s drivers qualified in the top five in 2022 – the latter marking their worst qualifying result at the track since 2012. In 2023, Hamilton qualified seventh with George Russell one position behind.

While Bottas qualified second in 2017, a gearbox change saw him demoted to sixth on the grid. Nico Rosberg recorded the team’s worst qualifying performance here to date in 2011, when he exited in Q1 after failing to set a lap time due to technical difficulties.

Mercedes’ double Q1 exit in 2012 remains the only other occasion where their cars have failed to reach the final part of qualifying at Suzuka.

FERRARI

WINS: 7, POLES: 10, PODIUMS: 21 | 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: LECLERC 4th, SAINZ 6th

Ferrari are currently tied with McLaren for the most victories at Suzuka, despite having not won a race here since 2004. The team won five races in a row at Suzuka between 2000 and 2004, but have had only seven podium visits since then.

Sebastian Vettel finished as runner-up in 2019, scoring the team’s first podium at the track since he finished third in 2015. Charles Leclerc finished third with Ferrari in 2022.

2014 marks the only time in the last 23 Suzuka races that Ferrari have failed to score, with their only other point-less visits to the track coming as a result of double DNFs in 1989, 1990 1993 and 1995.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka.

Ferrari have taken more poles than any other team at Suzuka, with nine in total. In 2019, the team took pole and locked-out the front row at the circuit for the first time since 2006. It was the first time either of their drivers had qualified on the front row here since 2006 – though Sebastian Vettel started from second in 2017 as a result of Valtteri Bottas’ grid slot. Charles Leclerc started from the front row for the second consecutive Suzuka race in 2022.

Since 2006, there have been only three occasions where a Ferrari driver has failed to reach the final part of qualifying at the Suzuka circuit, while Giancarlo Fisichella recorded the team’s only Q1 exit here in 2009.

McLAREN

WINS: 7, POLES: 4, PODIUMS: 24 | 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: NORRIS 2nd, PIASTRI 3rd

McLaren are tied with Ferrari as the most successful team at Suzuka, with Jenson Button most recently winning for the team here in 2011. In 2019, Carlos Sainz finished fifth at Suzuka, recording McLaren’s first points here since 2014, when Jenson Button also finished fifth.

In the 2023, both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished on the podium, recording McLaren’s first double podium at Suzuka since the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix.

The team has not recorded a DNF at the track since 2005, which is also the last time that they won at Suzuka, with Kimi Raikkonen taking victory on the final lap having started 17th on the grid.

1989 and 1990 are the only seasons in which both McLaren cars haven’t been classified in the result here. Ayrton Senna was controversially disqualified from the title-deciding race at the track in 1989, handing the title to team-mate Alain Prost.

Image: © Andrew Balfour

McLaren have taken pole position four times at Suzuka, all consecutively between 1988 and 1991. Since then, they have qualified on the front row only five times at the track, with Lando Norris’ second place in 2023 being their first front row start in Japan since 2011.

In 2019, both McLaren drivers reached Q3 at the Japanese Grand Prix for the first time since 2014. Between those two seasons, Fernando Alonso’s tenth place in qualifying in 2017 was the only time a McLaren driver has reached the final part of qualifying at the circuit – though the Spaniard started from the back of the grid following a 35-place grid penalty.

2018 is the only season that McLaren have recorded a double Q1 elimination here.

ASTON MARTIN

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: ALONSO 8th, STROLL DNF

In five of the last eight Suzuka races, both of the Silverstone-based team’s cars have scored points at the Japanese Grand Prix. Force India’s double points finish at the circuit in 2015 was the team’s first double points finish at Suzuka since they were in their Jordan guise back in 1993.

Sergio Perez’s 12th place in 2015 and Lance Stroll’s 12th place in 2022 and retirement in 2023 are the only times that one of the team’s drivers has failed to score at the track since 2013.

The team have never finished above fourth here – and Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon and Sebastian Vettel’s sixth places for the team in 2015, 2017 and 2022 respectively are the only times this team has finished in the top six here since the end of Eddie Jordan’s tenure at Team Principal.

Stroll’s retirement at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix was the first retirement for this team at Suzuka since 2010.

Image: © Andrew Balfour

The Silverstone-based team reached Q3 with both cars in every season between 2016 and 2018. Racing Point failed to qualify in the top ten in 2019, while Sebastian Vettel reached Q3 on Aston Martin’s first appearance at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2022. Fernando Alonso also progressed to Q3 in 2023.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Adrian Sutil’s fourth places here for Jordan in 1999 and Force India in 2009 respectively remain the team’s best qualifying showing at the track. In 2019, Lance Stroll recorded the Silverstone-based team’s first Q1 exit at the track since 2013. He was out in Q1 again in both 2022 and 2023.

ALPINE

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: OCON 9th, GASLY 10th

In 2018, Carlos Sainz scored Renault’s first point at the Japanese Grand Prix since their return to the sport in 2016. The Enstone team have won at Suzuka four times – in 1989, 1990, 1995 and 2006. Both Renault drivers finished on the podium in 2005 too, with Giancarlo Fisichella losing the lead to Kimi Raikkonen on the final lap of the race.

The team recorded one DNF in both 2017 and 2018, while 2010 marked the first time since 1993 that both of their cars have failed to finish the event. In 2019, both Renault drivers were disqualified from the race after illegal driver aids were found on their cars. Daniel Ricciardo had finished sixth, while Nico Hulkenberg had finished tenth.

On their first appearance as Alpine at Suzuka in 2022, both Esteabn Ocon and Fernando Alonso finished in the points, with Ocon’s fourth place being the Enstone team’s best result at the circuit since their last podium – under their Renault guise – in 2013. Both drivers scored again in 2023.

The Enstone team have recorded pole position at Suzuka twice – both by Michael Schumacher in 1994 and 1995. In 2022, both drivers reached Q3. It was the first time the team had qualified in the top ten since they were under their Lotus guise in 2015 and the first time both drivers reached Q3 sine 2013.

During Renault’s comeback stint, 2017 was the only time that neither car was eliminated in Q1.

WILLIAMS

WINS: 3, POLES: 4, PODIUMS: 10 | 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: ALBON DNF, SARGEANT DNF

In 2022, Nicholas Latifi finished ninth in the Japanese Grand Prix, scoring Williams’ first points at Suzuka since 2017. The team won at the track three times during the 1990s, and have taken ten podium finishes, their most recent being with Ralf Schumacher in 2004.

1987, 1995 and 2023 are the only occasions on which neither Williams driver has reached the end of the race at Suzuka. Before 2023, Lance Stroll’s DNF in 2017 and Alex Albon’s first lap exit in 2022 were Williams’ only retirements in the previous ten at the circuit.

Williams at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, held at Suzuka.

Williams have taken four pole positions at Suzuka, and locked-out the front row in 1992 and 1996. 2010, 2014 and 2015 are the only years where both Williams drivers have reached the final part of qualifying here, with Valtteri Bottas qualifying in third for the team in each of the latter two years.

At least one Williams car has been eliminated in Q1 in all of their last five visits to the track. 2019 marked the first time that both Williams have been out in Q1 at the circuit. Both drivers were also out in Q1 in 2022.

VISA CASH APP RB

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: LAWSON 11th, TSUNODA 12th

In 2019, Pierre Gasly finished seventh in the Japanese Grand Prix. It marked the first time a Toro Rosso driver had finished above ninth at the Suzuka circuit. With Daniil Kvyat also finishing tenth, it was the second time that both of the team’s cars have finished in the points at the track.

The only other time both drivers have scored was in 2015. 2009 is the only season where both Toro Rosso drivers have failed to reach the end of the race.

AlphaTauri, 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka.

The Red Bull junior team has recorded Q3 appearances only five times at Suzuka; four of those times being in the last four races here. 2018 saw both Toro Rosso drivers reach the final part of qualifying at Suzuka for the first time in the team’s history. Before that, Sebastien Buemi was the only other Toro Rosso driver to have reached Q3 at the track, having done so in 2009. Pierre Gasly qualified ninth in 2019, while Yuki Tsunoda qualified ninth in 2023.

With sixth on the grid in 2018, Brendon Hartley is the team’s best qualifier so far at the circuit.

SAUBER

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: ZHOU 13th, BOTTAS DNF

The Sauber team has not scored at the Japanese Grand Prix since 2013. Kamui Kobayashi scored a popular home podium with Sauber in 2012, which is the team’s only top three finish so far at the circuit. The team have managed a best of only 12th in the last eight Suzuka races and have recorded five DNFs during that time.

Just like points, Q3 appearances have been hard to come by for Sauber in recent seasons. They have not appeared in Q3 here since 2013. Charles Leclerc reached Q2 with Sauber in 2018, becoming the first driver for the team to not be eliminated in the first part of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix since 2013.

Both drivers were eliminated in Q2 in 2019 and 2022, while both were out in Q1 in 2023.

2012 is the only season where both Sauber drivers have reached the final part of qualifying at the Suzuka circuit, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen recorded the team’s best qualifying here with third on the grid back in 1994.

HAAS

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: HULKENBERG 14th, MAGNUSSEN 15th

From their six visits to Suzuka so far, Haas have scored in two races, including with both cars in 2017. A Haas driver is yet to finish above eighth here, with Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean each finishing in that position in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Magnussen recorded the team’s first, and so far only, DNF at the circuit in 2018. Both cars finished without scoring in 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2023.

In their first Japanese Grand Prix appearance, Haas reached the final part of qualifying with both cars. It’s a feat that they have failed to repeat since, though Romain Grosjean recorded the team’s best qualifying position here so far in 2018 with fifth and he reached Q3 again in 2019 with tenth.

Haas have recorded four Q1 exits at the circuit, in 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023. Grosjean was eliminated in Q1 at the track in 2017, Kevin Magnussen was out in Q1 in 2019 (when he failed to set a lap time after crashing out in Q1) and 2022, and Nico Hulkenberg exited in Q1 in 2023.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top
Scroll to Top