Scuderia Ferrari’s hopes of finishing third in the 2014 constructors’ championship took a serious hit in the Japanese Grand Prix yesterday as the team endured its first point-less race weekend in over four years.
Fernando Alonso had qualified fifth at Suzuka on Saturday, but was forced to retire from the race following an electrical failure on his car at the restart of the race on lap three.
Due to wet weather, officials suspended proceedings after just two laps before restarting the race 20 minutes later. However, Alonso’s car came to a halt just three corners later, and he was disappointed to lose the chance to race.
“It was a real shame losing the opportunity to take part in this race because, with nothing to lose in terms of the championship, I could have taken a few more risks and maybe aimed for the podium,” Alonso said. “I still don’t know what caused the unfortunate technical problem, only that suddenly, the car lost all its electrics, maybe down to a short circuit caused by the rain.”
Teammate Kimi Raikkonen was eventually classified in 12th place, one lap down on race winner Lewis Hamilton.
This result brings to an end Ferrari’s record run of 81 consecutive races in the points, and, with Williams’ drivers finishing sixth and seventh, the British team’s advantage in the race for third place in the constructors’ has grown to 23 points.
Proceedings at Suzuka were overshadowed by the news that Jules Bianchi had sustained severe head injuries in an accident at the end of the grand prix. He remains in a critical condition at Mie General Hospital.
Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports
Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.
Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.
Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.
The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.
In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.
Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.
Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.
Last Five Seattle Winners
450s 2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto
