The Championship fight continues in Suzuka, Japan, for the seventeenth Grand Prix of the year.

The Japanese circuit of Suzuka is one of the most popular among the Formula 1 calendar, even if the GP has been held of the Fuji Speedway circuit too.

Pirelli, the italian tyres manufacturer, has selected the hardest tyres available in its range: the C1 as the White hard, C2 as the Yellow medium, and C3 as the Red soft.

The circuit is famous for its well-known corners, some of them quite extreme, like the 130R and the Spoon. The asphalt at Suzuka is among the roughest and most abrasive of the year, which increases tyre wear and degradation.

Lewis Hamilton won the 2018 Japanese GP, with a. one pit stop strategy, going from Soft to Medium. He was followed by Valtteri Bottas, with the same strategy, and Max Verstappen, who went from SuperSoft to Soft. 

The weather is always unpredictable in Suzuka: typhoons are possible at this time of the year, and the weather forecast predicted one to happen on Sunday. 

“Japan is always one of the most exciting and unpredictable races of the year, with Suzuka being an old-school track that rewards bravery and commitment." Said Mario Isola, Pirelli's Head of Car Racing. "Because of the considerable cornering demands that it places on tyres, we have selected the hardest possible combination in our range, which should help drivers push to the maximum even with a one-stop strategy. This is what the teams nearly always aim for, and most drivers chose at Suzuka last year. In 2017 we also saw a new overall lap record in qualifying, and with the emphasis on cornering speeds on the current generation of cars, it will be interesting to see if that is broken this weekend. Suzuka is also well-known for its variable weather, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the wet weather tyres appear on this famously demanding circuit”.

Here are the tyres choices selected per driver for the Japanese Grand Prix.