Formula 1 drivers and teams are preparing for the possibility of wet weather conditions at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, with forecasts suggesting Saturday’s qualifying session could be significantly impacted by rain. Current weather predictions show a 65 percent chance of precipitation during Saturday afternoon, which could mark the first time intermediate or wet weather tires are used in a race weekend this season.
The forecast presents a mixed outlook for the Suzuka weekend, with Friday practice sessions expected to remain dry with only a 3 percent chance of rain, while Sunday’s race currently shows zero percent probability of wet conditions. However, the substantial risk of Saturday rainfall has teams concerned about potential qualifying disruption, particularly if track conditions continue to change throughout the session, making tire strategy and timing crucial factors.
Alpine Racing Director Dave Greenwood addressed the team’s preparations for possible wet conditions, noting their recent experience during testing. “We carried out our shakedown in the rain at Silverstone and did some wet running in Spain too,” Greenwood explained. “Harvesting energy will no longer be a problem in the wet, but deploying it becomes trickier, especially with less downforce. If we get rain, we just have to be prepared, like every team.”
The Alpine official emphasized the importance of the gap between races, stating: “Don’t underestimate the time between China and Japan, where we’ve been back at Enstone in the simulator recalibrating everything we’ve learned so far.” This weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix represents the third race under Formula 1’s new technical regulations introduced during the off-season, with Mercedes having dominated qualifying in both previous rounds through George Russell’s pole position in Australia and Kimi Antonelli’s top qualifying performance in Shanghai.