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Welcome back to Prime Tire, where we’re wondering if anyone else didn’t know that cherry blossom trees actually grow cherries. Just us? I thought they called them cherry blossoms because they were just…kind of pink. I need to take the rest of the day off.

Anyway, it’s cherry blossom season in Formula One as the Japanese Grand Prix weekend gets underway. I’m Patrick, and Luke Smith will be along shortly. Let’s dive in.

Dispatches from practice in Japan

If you’re reading this in the U.S. or the U.K., odds are you slept through at least one session as F1 practices began in Japan. So let’s knock out a quick recap, shall we?

When we were last here in September, you’ll recall that Max Verstappen went all MEEP MEEP, securing his 13th win of the year and Red Bull’s latest constructors’ championship. On Friday, the team’s hold on Suzuka looked unchanged. Rain in FP2 hindered everyone’s running, but Verstappen and Sergio Pérez topped first practice and ran fastest in the slow corners (by 0.25s) and at high speed (by 0.1s). Not huge margins, but one has to assume the gap in race pace is much wider.

Ferrari keeps surprising themselves – the team didn’t think the sweeping Suzuka corners would suit them, but the Prancing Horses were fastest in medium corners and on the straights on Friday. Sainz said Ferrari is “closer to Red Bull than I anticipated.” A fourth consecutive podium to start the year is certainly on the cards – a feat Ferrari hasn’t pulled off since 2018.

Lewis Hamilton praised Mercedes’ first practice, and the team finally seems optimistic heading into a race weekend. That car seems to like cooler conditions. So far this season, the more the team tinkers throughout a race weekend, the more the car gets away from it. We’ll see if the Japanese GP breaks from that script. “I think we’ve got a better platform or baseline to start from, so as long as we don’t make too many changes and eff it up,” Hamilton said. “I think (we should) probably just stay where we are.”

Logan Sargeant’s rough month continued in FP1. Driving Alex Albon’s repaired chassis (Williams opted to permanently give Sargeant’s chassis to Albon after the Australia switch), Sargeant lost the car in Dunlop Curve and smacked the barriers—another weekend of repairs for Williams. “The extent of the damage, it’s enormous,” Vowles said between sessions. “Floor, front wing, all suspension, gearbox cracked as well.”

FP1 was temporarily red-flagged after this Logan Sargeant crash #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/dPN5ek6CBl

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 5, 2024

At least the chassis was okay—remember, the team won’t have a third chassis available until China in two weeks. Williams’s margin for error this weekend is super-fine: neither driver can afford to damage a chassis today in FP3 or qualifying, and Williams can’t afford to lose any more sessions if it wants to gather data and understand this redesigned car.

It’s still hard to get a read on Aston Martin and McLaren. McLaren’s soft tire runs were interrupted by red flags and rain, though Lando Norris did say the car was in a “reasonable” state ahead of qualifying. Norris and Piastri podiumed here in September, but you get the feeling expectations in the McLaren garage are a bit lower this time around. We’ll see. Aston Martin didn’t get much running in on Friday, considering the upgrades it brought to Suzuka. The team didn’t run in FP2 and had issues with aero rake sensors on Lance Stroll’s car in FP1, which backed up his program a bit. Fernando Alonso finished seventh-fastest in FP1, but overall, not enough laps logged for the team today. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The same could be said for Alpine, which also barely got to test its new front wing.

As for the backmarkers, Daniel Ricciardo sat out FP1 for RB so Ayumu Iwasa could practice in an F1 car in front of his home crowd for the first time. When Ricciardo did run, he ran outside the top ten in an uneventful FP2 – again failing to match teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who ran ninth fastest. Haas and Sauber are also in Suzuka.

GO DEEPER

What Daniel Ricciardo’s shaky 2024 start means for his F1 future

Aston Martin’s diffuser has a slightly modified shape with a revised top surface. (Sipa USA)

An update on upgrades

Here are five notable upgrades teams brought to Suzuka, ranked in order of how sure I am I know what it means:

1. Red Bull revised its cooling inlets, removing the side-mounted exits for better airflow while adding an extra inlet and channel on the sidepods. This makes sense to me. Air go in, air come out, car get cooler. The team says Suzuka’s low brake energy demands allowed this redistribution. (F1TV’s Sam Collins had a good breakdown of Red Bull’s cooling design.)
2. Ferrari, anticipating rain and lower grip, brought a “more loaded top rear wing together with a more loaded lower beam wing.” Sure. Less grip means you need more downforce. We’ve seen the Ferrari thrive recently at tracks requiring lower downforce setups, like Monza. But we’ve also seen the Ferrari look pretty competitive at higher downforce tracks since September (think Singapore or Australia). If Ferrari can more consistently compete everywhere, it’ll continue to be the bee in Red Bull’s bonnet for much of the spring and summer. Let’s see if it holds serve on Saturday and Sunday.
3. Aston Martin brought a sizable update to Japan: a completely re-modeled underbody and a new diffuser to take advantage of it. I get that. Though the team said the floor updates should “improve the flowfield,” which is a phrase I’ve never heard before. Sounds like the goals of a misguided sci-fi space opera villain. By “improving” the Flowfield, the Colonel would break it – and doom the galaxy. He had to be stopped. 
4. Mercedes brought no changes. I barely understand this.
5. Ferrari says it has a “reprofiled rear top wishbone rearward leg fairing,” which is just a collection of seven random words. Drop them at dinner to impress your date/reveal you watch too much F1!

Meanwhile, at Alpine…

Poignancy overheard at the Alpine garage in FP1:

“There is the smell of burning carbon fibre, but the team insists everything is fine.” – Will Buxton, F1Tv

GO DEEPER

Alpine’s F1 newfound aggression may make for a slow start — and long-term payoff

And now, another non sequitur

Maybe I’m a simple, nerdy man, but I thoroughly enjoyed this joke about cats and tire compounds between the Williams drivers.

Comparing cats to tyres? 🐈 🛞

Stay tuned for all the wild chats of Team Torque dropping 🔜 pic.twitter.com/0JTiDkf669

— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) April 4, 2024

Get to know the Suzuka Circuit

Suzuka rules. (Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Hope you enjoy the racing at Suzuka this weekend as much as we do–and as much as the drivers do. “Suzuka is definitely one of the very greats of all time,” George Russell said in 2023. “It is such a thrill. The undulations and the flow to this circuit, it gives you such a great rhythm when you’re racing. So there’s always a joy to come here.”

Check out our full Japanese GP track breakdown below.

GO DEEPER

Japanese GP track breakdown: Suzuka is all rhythmic flow and old-school charm

Now let’s send it to Luke, who is a very happy man in Japan.

Inside the paddock with Luke Smith

I love everything about Suzuka. From the crazy fans with their amazing costumes and signs to the old-school figure-eight layout, this circuit stands out as one of the very best in global motorsport. But today, going trackside for the first time at this circuit, I became sure that this is the greatest race track in the world.

I adore Spa, and my U.K. passport obliges me to adore Silverstone. But there’s something extra about Suzuka that just feels so raw, so close to the roots of racing—a physical reminder of all the reasons why I—why we—love Formula One.

I made my way trackside for FP1, shuffling through the gap behind the barrier where Logan Sargeant would crash later in the session. I then made my way to a hill that offers a remarkable view. On one side, you’re practically looking down onto the two Degner corners, and on the other, there’s 130R, the fastest corner on the track and one of the greatest in F1.

Degner (L) and 130R (R) corners at Suzuka Circuit – all from the same viewing spot. (Luke Smith/The Athletic)

The TV cameras do not convey the speed through 130R. Seeing these cars, among the fastest in F1 history, dancing through the corner, kicking up sparks, running out toward the curb as the downforce presses them into the circuit, the tires leaning and keeping them stuck to the ground… it’s an utter, utter joy.

Suzuka, there’s nothing quite like you. Thank you for the much-needed reminder of why this sport is so special.

Outside the Points

Drivers were divided this week when asked about Fernando Alonso’s defensive move at the Australian GP that caused George Russell to crash and earned the Aston Martin driver a penalty. Lance Stroll called the penalty “ridiculous,” but Nico Hülkenberg “wasn’t very impressed” by Alonso’s driving.

Is Sebastian Vettel an option for Mercedes in 2025? That’s one name being bandied about as the paddock wonders who will fill Hamilton’s seat.

And, finally, Madeline Coleman wrote a terrific profile on F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff and her mission to improve the perception of women in motorsport. “I’m not only on a crusade for women in motorsport,” Wolff said. “I’m also on a crusade to build this into a sustainable business model which flies.”

I also want to promote our new daily football (soccer?) newsletter, The Athletic FC. It’s by the great Phil Hay, and it’s terrific. Give it a spin and sign up here.

Lead images of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris: Mark Thompson/Getty Images, YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images