Red Bull could win the title for the sixth time, Leclerc could reach 1,000 points and Hamilton could surpass Raikkonen’s total of laps raced. Here are the milestones and the records which could be broken at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix!
THE 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX MILESTONES
The 2023 Japanese Grand Prix will be the 1,095th World Championship event in Formula 1 history.
This will be the 39th time that Formula 1 has raced in Japan. It will be the 33rd Japanese Grand Prix held at Suzuka in World Championship history.
The 2023 Japanese Grand Prix will be the 47th Japanese Grand Prix since the event was first held in 1963 and the 37th time that the event has been held as a round of the World Championship.
The 2023 Japanese Grand Prix takes place on September 24, which is the earliest date in the year on which the Japanese Grand Prix has ever taken place. The event has been held in September only twice previously: in 2007 (at Fuji Speedway) and in 2015 (at Suzuka).
The 2023 Japanese Grand Prix will be the fifth round of the World Championship to be held on September 24. The last race held on this date was the 2000 United States Grand Prix.
The 49th lap of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix will be the 1,700th Grand Prix racing lap to take place at Suzuka.
WILL RED BULL WIN THE TITLE?
Red Bull could win the Constructors’ Championship at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. They will do so if they out-score Mercedes by at least one point and are not out-scored by Ferrari by 24 points or more.
If they are victorious, this will be Red Bull’s second consecutive championship win and their sixth in total. They would also become only the fourth team – after Ferrari, Williams and McLaren – to have won consecutive titles on multiple occasions.
Should he extend his championship lead by 5 points at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen will set a new record for the largest championship lead ever held in Formula 1. He currently leads the championship by 151 points from team-mate Sergio Perez. The record for the largest lead is 155 points, set by Sebastian Vettel at the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.
THE FORMULA 1 RECORDS TO BREAK
Should Lewis Hamilton reach Lap 32 of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, he will overtake Kimi Raikkonen for second on the list of most Grand Prix laps completed in Formula 1 history. Hamilton has completed 18,590 laps to date in his career.
Max Verstappen has led 661 laps so far in the 2023 Formula 1 season. If he leads another 34 during the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, he will rise to second in the list of most laps led in a single season. Sebastian Vettel holds the record for most laps led in a single year, with 739 in 2011.
If Max Verstappen crosses the finish line, he will overtake Daniel Ricciardo for the second longest finishing streak in Formula 1 history, at 35 races. Lewis Hamilton’s 48 race finishing streak between the 2018 British Grand Prix and the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix is the only longer streak than Verstappen’s current streak.
At the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen joined Fernando Alonso as only the second driver to have won races from nine different grid positions. Either driver could become the first to win from ten different grid positions, while Lewis Hamilton could equal the existing record.
Having already won the Saudi Arabian and Singapore Grands Prix, one more victory for Sergio Perez in 2023 would make this the first season in which he has won three Grands Prix in a single year.
If Fernando Alonso wins any race this season, he will become the oldest driver to win a Grand Prix since Jack Brabham at the 1970 South African Grand Prix. Brabham won that race at the age of 43 years, 11 months and 5 days.
A fifth place finish for Fernando Alonso in the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix would see him equal Jenson Button for the most fifth place finishes in Formula 1. Button finished fifth on 27 occasions during his career.
1,000 POINTS FOR LECLERC?
If Charles Leclerc scores five points at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, Monaco will become the 11th nation to have scored 1,000 points in Formula 1. The United States could beat Monaco to it, if Logan Sargeant picks up two points. A points finish for Sargeant would mark the first time in 30 years that an American driver has scored in Formula 1. American drivers have been stuck on 998 points since the 1993 Italian Grand Prix, when Michael Andretti scored the last points of his career with a podium finish for McLaren.
Should he score nine points, Charles Leclerc will become the 14th driver to have scored 1,000 points in his Formula 1 career.
Pole position for Charles Leclerc would see him overtake Valtteri Bottas as the non-champion to have taken the most pole positions in Formula 1. The pair are currently tied on 20 poles apiece.
NORRIS TO SURPASS HULKENBERG RECORD?
Lando Norris could become the driver to have scored the most F1 points without taking a victory at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. He will take the record from Nico Hulkenberg if he out-scores the German by six points, without winning the race.
A top ten finish for Nico Hulkenberg would make this the 100th race weekend at which he has scored points. That includes the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix, at which he only scored points in the Sprint.
2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX: RECORDS TO BREAK
Lewis Hamilton will equal Michael Schumacher’s record of six Japanese Grand Prix victories if he wins the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix.
Ferrari and McLaren are currently tied for most wins at Suzuka, with seven apiece. Either team could set a new outright record this weekend, while Mercedes could equal the existing record.
A top three finish for Lewis Hamilton will see him equal Michael Schumacher for most podiums at the Japanese Grand Prix. It would be his ninth top three finish at the event. He would not equal Schumacher’s record of most podiums at Suzuka however, as Hamilton took one of his top three results at Fuji Speedway.
McLaren currently hold the record for most podium finishes at the Japanese Grand Prix – but their tally of 25 top three finishes could be overtaken by Ferrari at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. Ferrari could also overtake McLaren’s tally of 22 podiums at the Suzuka circuit.
Germany and Britain are currently tied for most podium finishes at Suzuka, with 21 apiece. Either nation could set a new outright record at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix.
If he sets the fastest lap of the race, Lewis Hamilton will become the first driver to set the fastest lap on five occasions at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Mercedes lead the way as the engine manufacturer with the most victories at the Japanese Grand Prix, with 11 victories. They could set a new outright record this weekend, or Renault could equal their existing record. Renault could also equal Mercedes’ record of ten victories at Suzuka.
McLaren and Williams are tied as the teams to have set the fastest lap on the most occasions at the Japanese Grand Prix. Either team could set a new record this weekend, while Ferrari could equal the existing record.
If Lewis Hamilton scores 13 points at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, he will become the first driver to have scored 200 points in Japan.
If Red Bull out-score Ferrari by five points, they will overtake the Scuderia as the team to have scored the most points at Suzuka.
If he leads nine laps of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton will overtake Sebastian Vettel as the driver to have led the second-most laps at Suzuka.
Ferrari will overtake McLaren as the team to have led the most laps at Suzuka if they lead eight more laps of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix than McLaren.
Should Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri complete 41 laps of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix between them, McLaren will become the first team to have raced 3,000 laps at Suzuka.
If he’s out on Lap 1 of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz will become the first driver to record three first lap retirements at Suzuka. Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg and Alex Albon can equal the existing record of most first lap retirements at the track, currently shared between Sainz and Jean Alesi.
2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX: QUALIFYING RECORDS
If a team other than Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull take pole position at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, this would be the first time four different teams have taken pole at four successive races at Suzuka.
Ferrari and Renault power have both taken ten poles at the Japanese Grand Prix. A pole for either manufacturer this weekend would be a new outright record.
Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris will both be hoping to maintain their 100% Q3 appearance record at the Japanese Grand Prix.
If Lewis Hamilton reaches Q3 at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, he’ll set a new record for most Q3 appearances at Suzuka. He’s currently tied with Sebastian Vettel on 12 Q3 appearances at the track.
Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg are currently tied with Daniel Ricciardo and Pastor Maldonado for most Q2 exits at the Japanese Grand Prix. Each with four apiece, Sainz or Hulkenberg could set a new outright record at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. Their existing tally could be equalled by Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas or Fernando Alonso.
HAMILTON SEARCHES FOR FIRST VICTORY SINCE 2021
Victory for Lewis Hamilton would see car number 44 equal car number 2 as the car number to have taken the third most wins in Formula 1.
A victory for Lewis Hamilton at any race in 2023 would see him move into the top 20 of the oldest drivers to win a Grand Prix in Formula 1. He would overtake Damon Hill as the third-oldest British driver to have won a Grand Prix.
If Lewis Hamilton wins any race this year, he’ll overtake Kimi Raikkonen as the driver to have had the longest gap between his first and last Grand Prix victories. He’d also be the first driver to have won after the 300th race of his career. Fernando Alonso would break the record if he were to take victory.
A victory for Lewis Hamilton would make him the first driver to have won in 16 different Formula 1 seasons. 2022 is the only season during his career in which Hamilton has not taken a victory.
WILL MERCEDES BE BACK IN THE FIGHT?
A victory for Mercedes would make 2023 the 12th consecutive season in which the team has won a race. They would be only the third team to win in 12 consecutive seasons, after Ferrari (1994-2013) and McLaren (1981-1993).
Victory for a Mercedes-powered car would see them become only the third engine manufacturer to have won in 17 consecutive Formula 1 seasons. The only other manufacturers to have done so are Ferrari (20 seasons, between 1994-2013) and Ford Cosworth (17 seasons, between 1967-1983).
If three Mercedes-powered cars finish on the podium, Mercedes will equal Renault’s record tally of seventeen podium lockouts for an engine manufacturer.