The Track 
The Fuji Speedway was a controversial choice to take over hosting duties of the Japanese leg of F1's world tour in 2007, not least because former host track Suzuka was one of the most loved on the whole calendar. To add insult to irate rage, the Fuji circuit was not the fast meandering beast of old, whose main claim to fame had been hosting the first major televised F1 event in 1976, as nationalistic fervour threatened to consume a very small part of the British Isles while they watched foppish soak James Hunt slither his way to the world championship after rival Niki Lauda gave up in the face of treacherous wet conditions. No, instead, the track had been, to coin a rubbish phrase "Tikle-ified", i.e. it had been reprofiled and had twiddly third gear corners added at strategically boring places.
The move also saw F1 move away from a Honda-owned circuit to a Toyota-backed one, and like the F1 team, Fuji is largely a forgettable experience, with a traditional Tilke favourite, the long start/finish straight leading into a tight first corner beginning a lap full of other Tilke favourites (i.e. endless anonymous twiddly bits). The long 100R corner is a pretty decent driving challenge for those wanting a perfect lap, but beyond that there isn't much to set the heart racing.
To add a mild element of spice into the weekend, the teams will be entering a bit of an unknown world should it be dry, seeing as the inaugural event last year was beset by torrential rain throughout the weekend, to the point that the opening 19 laps of the race itself were run behind the safety car, in a move that delighted everyone who had woken up at 5am to watch it. Though early forecasts show that there is the potential for more rain this time around, which would be lovely, wouldn't it?
Google Maps will allow you to have a gander at the track (http://tinyurl.com/4j9jgm) with bonus points on offer if you can spot the remains of the old banked section of the track pre-safety concerns.
Talking Points
After the trials and tribulations for Kimi Raikkonen and Robert Kubica at Singapore, we are now left with a head-to-head battle for the drivers championship between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, or to put it a more accurate way, between McLaren and Ferrari. Reading which team will have the advantage at Fuji is understandably difficult as, although Hamilton dominated last years event, the weather renders that situation largely moot. If Ferrari can come up trumps around the Speedway, Massa will be looking in good shape, despite his seven point deficit, seeing as Ferrari are expected to have the upper hand at the last two tracks of the year as well. Though Hamilton could comfort himself with the fact that even if Massa was the win the remaining three events, three second places would be enough to make him champion. After his indignation at the team's call in Singapore forcing him to concede second place to Nico Rosberg and drive for a conservative points finish, he may well find himself adopting that stance more often than not before the end of the season.
The joker in Ferrari's busted flush is Kimi Raikkonen. Although at times this year he's looked like he'd struggle to beat Hamilton in a Kimi Raikkonen Lookalike Contest, he nevertheless has a vital Boobens-esque role to play as Massa's foil. The level of his success or failure in that particular venture may well decide the championship. And if Raikkonen is the joker, then Heikki Kovalainen is that card with the rules of bridge written on it, i.e. useless. Be it lack of luck or a simple lack of skill, Heikki has been at the races less often than a work-shy jockey this year, and McLaren's decision to play their driver choice safe for 2008 following the rather public clash of heads when they tried running two drivers of similar ability last year may well come back and bite them somewhere painful before the end of the championship.
In the constructors championship, there is still very much a three way scrap for honours. McLaren hoisted themselves into the lead of the standings for the first time since the second round of the year in Malaysia, as Ferrari's once-commanding lead has been completely eroded away. The single point advantage for the Anglo-German team is precious little though, and with BMW Sauber still in with a sniff, 15 points behind in third place, this championship remains as up in the air as the drivers standings.
If the championship battle is the focal point for everyone's attention, the scraps further down the field are just as important (i.e. money-based) for the other teams. Renault hold a decent-looking six point lead over Toyota in the scrap for fourth place in the constructors championship following Alonso's unexpected victory last time out, but you'd assume that if Toyota will be quick anywhere, it will probably be at their own track, while the three-way tussle for sixth place, and the prize money that goes with it, has fallen decisively into Toro Rosso's sights recently, the B team's star rising as quickly as Red Bull's star fades. Williams are still in with a sniff of sixth place as well, following Rosberg's heroics (and luck) in Singapore, but the team don't hold out much hope of being competitive at any of the remaining races, and they may well have to comfort themselves with the fact that they should have done enough to stay clear of Honda for the rest of the year. On the subject of Honda, the Japanese team cannot be looking forwards to the inevitable humiliation in it's home race, as Toyota look set to keep the minor bragging rights of being the least crap Far Eastern F1 team.
Modern Classic
2005
A reminder of why everyone loved Suzuka, not to mention a reminder as to why a wet qualifying session and messed-up grid order can spark some excitement in a Grand Prix, and if that wasn't enough, a reminder as to why Giancarlo Fisichella was always looked on as a bit of a bottler. The race began with established frontrunners Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen well down the order, and the majority of the race was an overtake-fest, with the highlights being the scrap between Alonso and Schumacher, which featured a spectacular pass from Alonso around the outside of the terrifying 130R corner.
Despite Alonso's efforts, he managed no higher than third place, and going into the final few laps, we had the sight of Kimi Raikkonen hunting down long time leader Fisichella. Going into the final lap, Raikkonen topped off a thrilling race by piling down the inside of the Renault into the quick first corner, and decisively holding on to take the race win.
One Year Ago
A year ago, it rained, it poured, and the audience snored through a safety car-dominated event. By the checkered flag, it looked as if Lewis Hamilton was the champ-elect, as he won at a canter, while Raikkonen slithered to third place and Alonso ended his weekend in the wall. Remember when Hamilton looked good here.
Facts and Guesses
Number of Laps : 67
Lap Record : 1:28.193 (Lewis Hamilton - 2007)
2007 Pole : Lewis Hamilton (McLaren - Mercedes)
2007 Winner : Lewis Hamilton (McLaren - Mercedes)
Free Practice 1 & 2 : 10:00 & 14.00 (Local Time) / 02.00 & 06.00 (BST) - Friday 10th October
Free Practice 3 : 11:00 (Local Time) / 03.00 (BST) - Saturday 11th October
Qualifying Start : 14.00 (Local Time) / 06.00 (BST) - Saturday 11th October
Race Start : 13.30 (Local Time) / 05.30 (BST) - Sunday 12th October
On Patronise
Patronise will be covering all the "important" stuff this weekend, as ever, with live lap-by-lap commentary on the qualifying session and the race itself, plus our usual mix of poorly-written reviews and other nonsense to keep you entertained for at least five minutes.
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