Typhoon Hagibis Set To ‘Violently’ Hammer Japanese Grand Prix

TYPHOON HAGABIS Japan Grand Prix Weather Update Thursday October 10th

Saturday’s track action at Suzuka is cancelled as a result of Typhoon Hagabis which will clip the track. 

Sunday morning 10:00 local time will now be qualifying. The final race with occuer local time at 2:00 local time. FP3 will not be rescheduled. 

The official statement from teh circuit federation is as follows:

“As a result of the predicted impact of Typhoon Hagibis on the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix 2019, Mobilityland and the Japanese Automobile Federation (JAF) have decided to cancel all activities scheduled to take place on Saturday, 12 October.”

The entire paddock, drivers, and teams seem to be agreeing along with the FIA that this is the best interest of the grid for safety reasons. 

TYPHOON HAGABIS & Weather Updates at The Japanese Grand Prix

Chance Of A Wet Track Estimations

Typhoon Hagibis Will Bring Rain Regardless

By just about every source of available data we’re able to analyze, the projections in every scenario brings rain. By the time the storm reaches Suzuka, it’s likely the worst will already be baked in.

…After passing the Northern Marianas, Hagibis should turn northwest, then northward. As is typically the case, the timing and sharpness of that curl will be key in determining where the most serious impacts will be. Mainland Japan appears to be at greatest risk for direct impacts from Hagibis. Hagibis will be weakening as it nears Japan because of increasingly unfavorable upper-level winds. That said, it should still be a strong and dangerous typhoon.

In most cases, the idea of a tricky circuit that creates different driving dynamics due to the weather would get a Formula One fan excited. Who could forget about The German Grand Prix?? But At Suzuka, the drivers experience heavy G loads and higher ranges of centripetal force. It takes the driving beyond entertaining and into the dangerous. As a purist, I myself can see the argument many old school F1 fans are saying in their head right now – “That’s the point”. But there’s a reason purists are considered old schooled. It’s the same reason the halo is viewed with such condemnation so many despite it undeniably saving multiple lives in the past few years.

Typhoon Hagibis Alerts & Track Updates

As Typhoon Hagibis moves and the weather patterns adjust, I’ll be sure to keep this blog updates as your rolling source of Typhoon Hagibis Formula One news going into the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix. Let’s hope for an entertaining race, while respecting the power this tricky possesses and technical abilities it demands. Too much rain, and it could create unsafe conditions. But reports are showing rapid degradation of the storm with the worst of it at The Suzuka Circuit After Qualifying but ahead of the race start.

More To Come.