Rain or not: it will be a tactical game at Suzuka

Will it rain or not? The weather forecast for the Suzuka Grand Prix is extremely uncertain. Yes, it will rain on Sunday, weather models indicate. But when exactly: before the race, during or after?

In case of rain, a great race certainly awaits. But even without water on the track, things could go either way, as there are quite a few possible strategies. Tyre supplier Pirelli informs that starting on soft, changing to medium and then a final stint of soft is the fastest. Max Verstappen has two sets of new softs, a new set of medium and a new set of hard left for the race.

In contrast, his main rival Charles Leclerc has two sets of new mediums and of the hard and softs one each. He may opt for the strategy of starting on soft and then changing to mediums twice. According to Pirelli, this strategy is almost as fast as the previously mentioned option with two stints on softs. So in advance, it seems that Red Bull Racing and Ferrari will start the Grand Prix with different ideas.

But all advance predictions can thus be thrown out of the window if rain falls somewhere during the race. Friday's free practice sessions have already proved that if it rains at Suzuka, it can rain pretty hard at Suzuka.