My notes and driver quotes...

Japanese GP

Suzuka certainly threw up a few stories. Some before the cars had even taken to the track.

I am quite old school and carry a notebook with me at all times. It means that when something comes into my head, I can write it down (in shorthand, naturally) for future consideration. Some of my notes are interesting, others, thankfully, will never see the light of day. I will give an example of some from the weekend. They often don’t need much elaboration.

NOTES

Send congratulations to Melissa and Fernando.

Journalism is not PR.

“Journalism is printing something that someone does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.” George Orwell

DC B’day.

Qualifying - even with changes, disappointing.

Kimi is the real deal - 3/10ths ahead of George.

Russell set up change after FP3. Didn’t work for qual. Still P2

Ollie Bearman - 50g crash. Massive speed difference.

Pierre Gasly has mastered these regs or has Alpine? Both!

Kimi first Italian since 1950s consecutive wins.

George timing of SC (safety car).

Delighted for Oscar.

Rather than my shorthand musings, here are some quotes from the drivers that more accurately sets the tone after the Japanese Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri “Well... it turns out if we start the thing, it’s pretty good,” said the Aussie after starting his first GP of the season and finishing in 2nd. Piastri was still 13 seconds behind Antonelli who became the first Italian to score back to back victories since Alberto Ascari in 1953. He is also the first teenager to lead the Drivers Championship.

Fernando Alonso “I told you in Bahrain, Turn 12, the chef could drive the car now and maybe fifty percent of the team members, I think, at least can drive in Suzuka. Because, as I said a few times already, high-speed corners now became the charging station for the car.”

Lando Norris “Honestly some of the racing, I didn’t even want to overtake Lewis. It’s just that my battery deploys, I don’t want it to deploy, but I can’t control it. So, I overtake him, and then I have no battery left, so he just flies past. This is not racing, this is yo-yoing. Even though he [Lewis] says it’s not, it is yo-yoing. When you’re just at the mercy of whatever the power unit delivers, the driver should be in control of it at least, and we’re not.”

Max Verstappen “There isn’t only F1 in life.”

Ollie Bearman - “It was a massive overspeed, 50kph, which is a real… it’s a part of these new regulations that I guess we have to get used to, but also I felt like I wasn’t really given much space given the huge excess speed that I was carrying.” It was a very scary moment for Ollie Bearman. This exact thing had been discussed in the drivers briefing at the start of the weekend.

Carlos Sainz is a of the Director Grand Prix Drivers’ Association “We’ve been warning them about this happening, this kind of closing speeds and this kind of accidents were always going to happen. I’m not very happy with what we’ve had up until now.”

FIA - “It has been the consistent position of all stakeholders that a structured review would take place after the opening phase of the season, to allow for sufficient data to be gathered and analysed. A number of meetings are therefore scheduled in April to assess the operation of the new regulations and to determine whether any refinements are required.

“Any potential adjustments, particularly those related to energy management, require careful simulation and detailed analysis. The FIA will continue to work in close and constructive collaboration with all stakeholders to ensure the best possible outcome for the sport and safety will always remain a core element of the FIA’s mission.”

With the cancellation of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, F1 is back at the start of May and the Miami GP. I have no doubt there will be plenty to discuss on here in the interim.