What Can Yuki Tsunoda Achieve at Home?
Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, Japan is Round 4 of this year’s Formula 1 Season! This is actually pretty exciting, and no driver will be more excited about this weekend than Yuki Tsunoda. Yuki’s had a pretty decent start to the year, and his brilliant P7 in Australia last time out sees him 11th in the Drivers’ Championship. Also, that result from Tsunoda sees Visa Cash App RB top of the lower field in P6 (in the Constructors’). So, with Yuki driving well and completely outperforming his teammate, what can the Japanese driver achieve at his home Grand Prix? Well, with a little bit of luck and some issues for cars in front of him, and Tsunoda could well finally score some points around Suzuka (in F1).
Will Carlos Sainz Build on his Strong Start to the Season?
Before the season started, it was announced that Ferrari would be signing Lewis Hamilton for 2025 in place of Carlos Sainz. Since then, Carlos has finished 3rd in Bahrain, missed Saudi Arabia due to having his appendix removed, and then won the Australian Grand Prix! It’s safe to say that Sainz is driving superbly right now, and the big question is whether he can keep it up or not. Personally, I see no reason why Carlos can’t end the weekend with another trophy.
Could We be in for a Logan Sargeant Redemption Story?
After a pretty decent Junior Formula Career, it’s fair to say that Logan Sargeant’s Formula 1 career hasn’t exactly gone to plan so far. Logan has only scored 1 point in 24 Races, and even that point was only because of a couple of disqualifications at COTA last year. However, maybe the worst moment in Sargeant’s career came last time out when he was forced to withdraw from the Australian Grand Prix due to gifting his car to Alex Albon despite Albon wrecking his car in FP1. I’m not going to get into whether that was the right decision or not, but what I will say is this is now a proper “sink or swim” period for the young American.
Mercedes Need a Strong Weekend!
After 3 Rounds in 2024, it's safe to say that things aren't going to plan for Mercedes! Merc are currently 4th in the Constructors' after a double DNF in Australia, but the more worrying thing about that is The Silver Arrows are closer to Alpine in 10th than McLaren in 3rd! In terms of the car, it doesn't look particularly great, but they also haven't been helped by the fact that Lewis Hamilton looks like he's just waiting to join Ferrari whilst George Russell shunted his car at the end of the Australian GP. So yeah, Mercedes need to improve because they look like a bit of a mess right now!
Will Max Verstappen Bounce Back in Japan?
Max Verstappen started the Australian Grand Prix from Pole Position and was definitely expected to seal a record-equalling 10th-straight Grand Prix victory (which would’ve tied a record that Max set last year)! However, that obviously didn’t happen as issues with his right-rear brake resulted in the Triple World Champion having to retire after just 3 laps! So, it’s safe to presume that Max is going to be even more up for winning this weekend than normal. In terms of Japan, Verstappen has only failed to finish on the Podium once with Red Bull (DNF in 2019) so to answer my question, yes, Max definitely will bounce back!
My Predictions for Suzuka Qualifying
Max Verstappen
Oscar Piastri
Carlos Sainz
Lando Norris
Sergio Perez
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