Ferrari about the Japanese GP – Expect the unexpected

Felipe Massa, Scuderia Ferrari and Fernando Alonso, Scuderia Ferrari

The Spaniard ended the day in an encouraging second place on the time sheet, behind the McLaren of Jenson Button, who was the only man to break the 1m 32s barrier. The Scuderia’s Brazilian driver was fifth fastest this afternoon, separated from his team-mate by just under four tenths of a second and the two Red Bulls of third placed Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in fourth. Felipe’s former team-mate and multiple Suzuka winner Michael Schumacher completed the top six for Mercedes.

In past years, by the time the teams reached Suzuka, the scene was set and, to quote Julius Caesar as he crossed the Rubicon, the die is cast. However, this year the one predictable element of each race has been its unpredictability and yet again that might well prove to be the case this weekend. One can expect the unexpected and as usual, the relative performance of the Pirelli Soft and Medium tyres and how the teams manage their use on Sunday would seem to be the key.

But we are getting ahead of the game, because before the race comes one more hour of free practice tomorrow morning, followed by qualifying: if the tyres, combined with DRS and KERS make overtaking a bit more likely on this track where getting ahead of a rival has always been very difficult, Suzuka is still the sort of circuit where having a clear view of the run down to the first right hander is more than useful.