Before the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix weekend began, I posted five prediction polls on the Lights Out twitter account. How many of the questions did you get right? Find out below!
1. ON WHICH DAY WILL QUALIFYING TAKE PLACE?
1. On which day will qualifying for the #JapaneseGP take place? #LightsOutF1Predictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) October 10, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: SUNDAY
CORRECT ANSWER: SUNDAY
With Typhoon Hagibis approaching, it’s no surprise that 71% of you expected qualifying to be moved to Sunday. You were right – F1 announced the cancellation of its Saturday running early on Friday morning. For the fifth time this millennium, qualifying took place was rescheduled ahead of the race on Sunday morning.
2. Where will the best placed Honda driver finish?
2. Where will the best placed Honda-powered car finish in the #JapaneseGP? #LightsOutF1Predictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) October 10, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: 2nd or 3rd
CORRECT ANSWER: 4th
Red Bull were hoping to score a home podium for their engine manufacturer Honda, but it wasn’t to be. Max Verstappen was the best-placed Honda driver on the grid, but his race was all but ended by a run in with Charles Leclerc at the opening corner. Instead, Alex Albon became the lead Red Bull driver and drove an impressive race to finish a career best fourth. Pierre Gasly picked up an additional two points for Honda with a ninth place finish for Toro Rosso.
3. How many points will McLaren score?
3. McLaren haven't scored at the #JapaneseGP since 2014. How many points will they score this weekend? #LightsOutF1Predictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) October 10, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: 7 or more points
CORRECT ANSWER: 7 or more points
Both McLaren drivers reached Q3 at Suzuka and qualified on the fourth row of the grid. It was a disappointing race for Lando Norris, who could finish only thirteenth. Carlos Sainz brought home McLaren’s only points of the afternoon with an impressive fifth place. It’s the first time McLaren have scored a point at the track since Jenson Button finished fifth.
4. How many Safety Car laps will there be?
4. How many laps of the #JapaneseGP will be spent behind the Safety Car? #LightsOutF1Predictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) October 10, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: 7 or more
CORRECT ANSWER: None
Just 9% of you thought that the Safety Car would not make an appearance at the Japanese Grand Prix. It was the first Suzuka race since 2016 to not feature a Safety Car period.
5. Where will Yamamoto place in Free Practice 1?
5. In what position will Naoki Yamaoto be classified in Free Practice 1? #JapaneseGP #LightsOutF1Predictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) October 10, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: 16th or lower
CORRECT ANSWER: 16th or lower
Naoki Yamamoto made his Formula 1 debut this weekend, with an impressive outing for Toro Rosso in Free Practice 1. While he finished only seventeenth in the session, it was a pretty good effort, considering he’d never driven an F1 car before Friday morning. Even more impressive was that he was just a tenth slower than Daniil Kvyat in the other Toro Rosso car.
Let us know how you got on with this race’s predictions! There’ll be more at the next race, follow us on twitter to take part: @LightsOutF1Blog!