Will Max take home the championship this weekend?
Max Verstappen wasn’t able to secure the drivers' championship last weekend after a disappointing display in Singapore. However, he still leads the championship by 104 points and can secure his second world title this weekend. To do that, he just has to win the race and earn the fastest lap. If he wins the race without the fastest lap, he will still win the championship if Charles Leclerc doesn’t manage second place. It would be nice to see Max win it in Japan given Red Bull’s connection with Honda. Also, the likes of Senna, Prost, Hill and Vettel have all sealed World Championships in Japan so it would be cool to see him add his name to the list.
Japan has a home driver to cheer on again
For the first time since 2014, the Japanese Grand prix will have their very own driver taking part. Yuki Tsunoda takes part in his first ever Japanese Grand Prix as a Formula One driver and I’m sure that there will be lots of people cheering him on. Yuki has also said that he has a lot of experience driving around the Suzuka Circuit so it will be interesting to see how it gets on. Hopefully, it will go well for him.
Can Aston Martin build from last week?
Aston Martin easily had their best weekend of the season last time out in Singapore. For a bit of context, 37.8% of their points came last week. Lance Stroll has been driving much better recently whilst Sebastian Vettel is aiming to end his Formula 1 career on a high. Aston are now sitting 7th in the constructors championship, which is more respectable, but could they get 6th. They are only 15 points away from Alfa Romeo, so it is entirely possible given there is 5 races left (including this one).
Alpine need to bounce back
Fernando Alonso went on a 10 race points scoring streak but has failed to score anything in the previous 2 rounds. Overall, Alpine have failed to score points in the previous 2 races. Whilst they’ve been struggling, McLaren have managed 28 points and have now moved ahead of Alpine in the Constructors Championship. This is becoming a problem for the French outfit as finishing fourth over fifth is a massive financial boost. It’s up to Alonso, Ocon and the whole team to get themselves out of this rut.
Can Sergio Perez win again?
Sergio Perez was amazing last weekend. He was on it all weekend and deserved the win. On the weekend Max could win the championship, could Perez delay his teammates celebrations for another couple of weeks. He could but I’d be very surprised. Perez is a master of street circuit but has struggled recently on more traditional circuits. Either way, if he beats Charles Leclerc this weekend by more than 2 points, he will move up to second in the Drivers' Championship which would be pretty good.
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