Strategy Switches and Teamwork on Educational Japanese GP Weekend

Coming away from the Japanese Grand Prix with P7 and P9 isn't a result we are ever going to enjoy, but we return home from Asia with a better understanding of W15.

It's an understanding we hope will help us bear fruit as we continue into the season.

Early signs from 2024 indicated that the high-speed, fast-flowing nature of Suzuka was always going to make challenging at the front difficult for George and Lewis, but the gap to those ahead wasn't as high as anticipated in the final reckoning.

"It's been really beneficial to start the season on these circuits," said George, post-race.

"They have highlighted the areas we need to work on, and will help with the development for the rest of the year."

The weekend started positively. Cooler conditions - a direct result of an April-running of the Grand Prix for the first time in its history - left the team and drivers very satisfied, and indicated again a sprinkling of the potential W15 does indeed have.

"FP1 was the best the car has felt all year," said Lewis on Friday evening.

"The team has done a lot of work since Australia and we really hit the ground running today. The car was definitely in a sweeter spot."

The only negative about Friday? A lack of running. April may be outside of Japan's traditional typhoon season, but that didn't stop the wet weather rolling into Suzuka just as FP2 started.

Few ventured out. Times were unrepresentative. Performance unable to be measured.

FP1 was the best the car has felt all year

Lewis

So we moved on to Quali Saturday, with what little information we had from Friday suggesting what many in the paddock already knew. Red Bull would be out front, but behind would be close. We were in that conversation.

The path to Q3 was smooth sailing and allowed us to carry two sets of brand new Soft tyres into the session. As expected, it was tight, with just three tenths separating row two and row five in the first two parts of the session.

When the chequered flag fell, we were just a tenth off the second row with Lewis in P7. The equivalent to the merest of twitches from the steering wheel when turning into a corner.

George was also unable to improve his final run and lined up ninth. In the context of Suzuka itself - a track that posed problems on the previous two visits - we were half a second closer to pole than we were back in September of last year.

"We have made some improvements, and I was much happier in the car today that I have been all year," said Lewis, as the positive Friday sentiment transitioned through to the end of Saturday for the first time this season.

It left Toto optimistic, too.

"We seem to have taken a step in the right direction with the car this weekend, at a track that was one of the worst for us last season," he said.

"To see that progression is encouraging."

Back in P9, George was disappointed, but not disheartened.

"If you made a mistake you would end up P9 and that's what happened to me. Thankfully you can overtake here, and there is tyre degradation and different strategies involved."

That option of a different strategy was activated early in the Grand Prix - after a crash between Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon saw both drivers out of the race on lap one, with considerable damage to the tyre wall.

The resultant red flag opened up new possibilities. Stay on the Medium tyres from the original start, or switch to the Hard tyres and attempt a one-stop strategy?

While it risked leaving the drivers on worn out tyres towards the end of the race, it would hopefully give Lewis and George track position, and save up to 23 seconds of race time.

The restart didn't quite go to plan, though. A lock-up from George put him behind Yuki Tsunoda for two laps, and Lewis was hampered after contact with Charles Leclerc.

Not much, but enough to change the direction of the race. Midway through the opening stint Lewis, struggling with understeer, waved George through, playing the team game to try and maximise the outcome come the chequered flag.

"A poor first stint cost us today," said Toto

"But, our decision to take the restart on the Hard tyres was the right one."

When the McLarens of Piastri and Norris pitted, we were P5 and P6 on the road, with all the front runners planning to stop once more.

But George's second post-Saturday premonition was also coming true.

While we had hoped tyre degradation would affect the race of those in front, it was now wreaking havoc with ours, and both cars were forced to change to fresh rubber earlier than planned.

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New Hards fitted, there was now an option to run to the end.

It soon became apparent, though, that this was not going to work.

Despite strong pace in comparison to Leclerc and Norris ahead, the higher-than-expected wear on the tyres at Suzuka meant 38 laps on the Hard rubber was never going to be possible.

Emerging on the Mediums with 20 laps to go in P8 and P9, the tides had been turned somewhat on Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri up in front. As they nursed their tyres to the end, George and Lewis set about reeling the pair in.

It took until the final few laps for George to catch the pair, and a bold lunge up the inside into the final chicane let Oscar know he was going to fight for the line. A lap later, out of the same corner, a small mistake from the Australian and George had the position into Turn One.

For the third race in a row, he was left to chase Fernando to flag, and fell just short in his pursuit of the Aston.

This weekend has been better than the final result suggests

Toto

"It was an exciting race towards the end. It's always nice to be attacking rather than defending, and it was good, hard racing," said the 26-year-old.

Lewis, too, ran out of laps behind Piastri and had to settle for P9. He had been the fastest man on track across the final 10 laps.

On paper, the Japanese Grand Prix goes down as a P7 and P9 finish. To the team, that doesn't quite tell the full story.

"This weekend has been better than the final results suggest," said Toto.

"What we have seen here is that the car is becoming quicker. But we want to be quick everywhere."

Lewis added: "If we want to move up the grid, we have to add performance to the car."

The focus now switches to a first Chinese Grand Prix in five years in two weeks' time.

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