Singapore brought some welcome performance for McLaren, especially from Jenson Button’s side of the garage. The legendary Suzuka circuit is a very different kettle of fish however, but in theory plays into the hands of the McLaren, with traction and straight-line speed as well as precision driving being hugely important here. Getting Suzuka right is no easy task, but Jenson Button mastered it brilliantly in 2011, taking one of his greatest wins, and arguably the most emotional of his career to date.
After a charging race from Sergio Pérez in Singapore, who ironically lucked into a decent haul of points after a safety car period following an incident between himself and Adrian Sutil, McLaren slipped behind Force India one again in the constructors’ standings. As this track on paper isn’t necessarily one that screams a Force India track on paper, McLaren must at least minimise the gap between the two. Kevin Magnussen also looks to gel a weekend together for the first time since Austria.
McLaren Japanese GP Preview
No. 20 Kevin Magnussen (DEN) – 12th
Form: 9/12/12/10/10
2013: Grid: N/A, Race: N/A
This will be young Magnussen’s first trip to Suzuka and a very important one as the rumour mill starts to query his future in Formula One. Despite showing some blistering qualifying speed, his inability to pick up points seems to not be helping his chances of staying with McLaren for 2015 as many claim that Fernando Alonso is set to return. A clean weekend with a Q3 appearance and some points would be excellent.
No. 22 Jenson Button (GBR) – 7th
Form: 8/10/6/8/R
2013: Grid: P10, Race: P9
Button generally goes really well at Suzuka, a circuit that somewhat is kind to his smooth driving style. He won here from second on the grid in 2011 as mentioned earlier and usually beat Lewis Hamilton around here whilst they were team mates. After his first DNF from a Grand Prix since 2012, Button will be hoping to return to the points at what must be one of his favourite circuits.
K-Mag gets an early birthday present ahead of turning 22 on Sunday, at a Mobil 1/McLaren Tokyo cocktail event. pic.twitter.com/eRNOyJcWrz
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 1, 2014
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