Japanese F1 Grand Prix October 2-4 2009

With back-to-back races, the F1 action moves from Singapore to Japan for the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend in the 15th round out of 17 of the 2009 season.  The race is officially called the ‘2009 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix.’   With only Brazil and Abu Dhabi left on the race calendar for this year, the tension and excitement is guaranteed to be intense.

The Suzuka circuit reopened this year following changes to comply with F1 regulations so the race has, once again, relocated from the Fuji circuit back to Suzuka for this year and the next two F1 grand prix seasons.

In this video AT&T Williams driver Nico Rosberg and Christian Danner introduce the Suzuka International race track. Nico Rosberg states that he loves this “fast… flowing… stunning” track, claiming it is his highlight of the year.

The race comprises 53 laps of the 5.8 km (3.6 mile) Suzuka track, to make a total race distance of approx. 307 km (191 miles).  Kimi Raikkonen holds the lap record from 2005 at 1:31.540.  With Japan being eight hours ahead of the UK, watching live coverage of qualifying and the Grand Prix will mean an early weekend wake-up for fans!  Practice sessions begin on Friday, October 4. 

If you have plans to travel to Japan, we recommend visiting our Travel Guide for Japan. Follow the link on the page for the Foreign Office (FCO) ‘Know Before You Go’ campaign and Country Advice for important travel information and updates.  For example, the FCO advises that in Japan the medical facilities are excellent but you are expected to pay for the entire cost of any medical treatment, so taking out comprehensive travel insurance is very important.  

According to the FCO, the authorities in Japan also have strict laws regarding some prescription and OTC medicines.  Vicks Inhalers, for example, are banned under their strict anti-stimulant drugs law, and ignorance is no excuse if you find yourself in trouble with customs officials!