I wonder what kind of tire and aero set-ups we'll see this weekend? Sails and outriggers??
FIA monitoring typhoon progress in Japan
Gearing up for the heavy rains...
The FIA, said on Thursday that it was monitoring a typhoon heading towards Japan because of fears it could disrupt this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.
Forecasters have predicted that heavy rain and high winds will hit the Suzuka circuit, one of the most testing on the 18-race calendar, on Saturday and could disrupt the Saturday qualifying session or even Sunday's race. There is also the possibility of prolonged rain into race day.
"We were hit by a big typhoon a few weeks ago and all of turn one and turn two was completely flooded," said local hero Takuma Sato. "We don't want to see that, because we would have to stop the race completely and that would be sad."
Suzuka is a high-speed track with one of the most notorious corners in Formula One, the left-hand 130R, taken virtually flat-out and the FIA could be forced to delay or cancel proceedings for safety reasons. The circuit is one of the long-standing venues on the Grand Prix calendar and some drivers believe its ageing facilities and run- off areas could become dangerous if there is too much rain on the track.
"It is never nice to be racing in wet conditions, especially here in Japan at Suzuka," stated Jarno Trulli who makes his debut for Toyota this weekend. "It is an old-fashioned circuit, it probably needs more run-off areas. We have been quite committed during this season, trying to improve what we have but we are a little bit limited, there is not much space we can gain." Jaguar driver Mark Webber added: "Normally the spray is a big problem for the drivers and if it rains very, very heavily the aquaplaning level is the thing that stops us from running."
Visibility will not be the problem for qualifying, which is run with one car on track at a time, but cars can easily aquaplane out of control even on wet weather tyres and the FIA is currently considering their options. If qualifying is cancelled, the most likely solution will be for the drivers to line up on the grid in the order they finished the last race, which would put world champion Michael Schumacher down in 12th position.
"It would be good if we lined up in the order we finished the last race," said Juan Pablo Montoya. "P5, yeah, I would go for that. Michael starts 12th or so. Let's do that! If the typhoon comes, I would be surprised if we go out, to be honest. The winds are pretty fast, if you get 40 mph winds I don't think you would want to go through 130R in the wet. If we have to go out, we would go out and see what happens. I'm good for anything. If everyone decides not to go out then it's reasonable, but if two or three cars go out and nothing happens then I would go out and do the same."
"But I believe if it gets to the point that it is dangerous to drive the FIA will stop it."
E.A.
Source AFP
