"I would think that if they're not 30 seconds ahead like they have done in the past then something's up!" says Lewis Hamilton with Red Bull expecting to hit back at Suzuka; McLaren tipped to star too; watch live this weekend on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday's race at 6am
Friday 22 September 2023 02:58, UK
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton believes there would be "something up" if Red Bull were anything but "phenomenal" around Suzuka this weekend.
While Max Verstappen is confident Red Bull will duly be back on form after their Singapore slump on a weekend they can clinch the Constructors' Championship, the Dutchman nonetheless named resurgent McLaren as the team who could pose their biggest threat.
The Red Bull-dominated 2023 season produced its biggest shock last week as the runaway championship leaders toiled around Marina Bay's street track. Their rare absence from the front left Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes to wage an almighty battle for victory that went all the way to the final lap.
This weekend's fast and flowing sweeps of Suzuka, though, are expected to allow the RB19 to regain more familiar form.
"I would think that if they're not 30 seconds ahead like they have done in the past then something's up!" Hamilton quipped in Thursday's press conference.
"But, no, it was obviously a difficult weekend the last one but their car should be phenomenal here.
"They have been phenomenal all year long, they have aced pretty much every circuit. I mean it's going to be great to watch that car in general.
"Normally you would come here and it's beautiful to watch the laps that they do because the whole team and the drivers are doing an amazing job with the package they have.
"So it will be interesting to see how the weekend goes. I hope it will be closer and I hope they are not as fast as that 30-second gap they have had in the past."
George Russell, Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate, said of Red Bull: "I think that was purely a one-off, I expect them to be back to their winning ways or at least the top of the field but if they're not there will be a lot of question marks being raised if they have another weekend like last week.
"But I don't expect that."
Red Bull attributed set-up errors and the quirky nature of the twisty track for the sudden evaporation of the form which had seen them win all 14 races up to Singapore.
The world champions have also been adamant that the slump had nothing to do with the technical directive that came into force last weekend featuring a fresh clampdown on flexible bodywork, with team boss Christian Horner saying they had to change nothing on the RB19.
Asked again on Thursday about its impact on his car, Verstappen gestured 'zero' before adding to Sky Italy: "I'll show that this weekend."
Verstappen, last year's winner at Suzuka, is indeed expecting more normal form to be restored for a car over the next three days.
"There's not much that you do in Singapore that you do here," he said.
"So there's not much from my side to worry about, I'm just looking forward to this track. It's already very fun to drive, a lot of good memories for me, and hopefully it will be an enjoyable and strong weekend for the team."
The 3.6-mile figure-of-eight Suzuka layout is one of season's biggest tests of a car's aerodynamics, with performance in high-speed corners richly rewarded.
The suitability of Red Bull's RB19 appears to be a given but Verstappen has also identified another car which could be well suited.
"It should be a good track for us. Also when you look around, McLaren have been making great gains and they are usually quite good in the high-speed as well so they can be quite strong here I think," he said.
"It's quite impressive to see where they started and where they are now.
"Over one lap especially they can be very strong. The race pace you never know, but over one lap I definitely see them very competitive."
Mercedes' Russell also feels McLaren have shown well on similar tracks.
"It is going to be a close fight with Ferrari and McLaren," he said of Mercedes' fight. "I think Lando could potentially be the favourite this weekend with their high-speed [corner] performance. At Silverstone in the 230kph-region corners, they were exceptionally quick, they were two or two and a half tenths quicker than the majority of the field in each of those corners, a tenth quicker than Red Bull in those corners.
"I'd expect Lando to be next best and then it depends on Red Bull."
The battle to be Red Bull's nearest, albeit often distant, has swung between different teams all season and therefore it remains difficult to predict with certainty how the pecking order will appear at Suzuka.
Reflecting on Singapore, Mercedes' Hamilton said: "What a great race it was to have us all that close up front.
"This weekend I don't anticipate having the performance we had in the last race but we are continuing to try and push the envelope that we have, so I'm hoping that we are not terribly far off this weekend."
Ferrari, meanwhile, arrive in Japan on the back of a morale-boosting first race victory in 14 months.
Singapore victor Carlos Sainz has also claimed the past two pole positions, although admits predicting exactly how Ferrari's car will perform remains tricky.
"Looking at track characteristics, none of the tracks that are coming are anywhere close to Singapore or Monza, which are probably the two extremes. It is impossible to tell which tracks are going to suit us.
"But still, the trend of being quick in qualifying and struggling a bit in the race is always going to be there."
Sky Sports F1's Anthony Davidson to Sky Sports News:
"It really will. This is what I'm waiting to see.
"On paper, they [Red Bull] should come here and completely fly. It should be the target on their back once again for all to catch. But, if not, then you have to start looking at this new technical directive that's come out.
"With this in place, [the governing body is] stopping those flexible front wings, in conjunction with some flexible elements of the floor that the FIA felt that some teams out there were playing games with.
"The fact that the new TD is out there is proof that something must have been going on with one team up and down the paddock - at least - and they want to clamp down on it."
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