Suzuka Circuit in a file photo. (Image: Twitter)

F1 track statistics: All you need to know about the Suzuka Circuit

May 25, 2023May 25, 2023 Nilavro Ghosh

The Suzuka International Racing Course, also known as the Suzuka Circuit, is a motorsport race track in Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan, operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It can hold 155,000 people. In the late 1950s, Soichiro Honda decided to build a new permanent circuit in Mie prefecture. The most iconic feature of the track, designed as a Honda test track in 1962 by Dutchman John ‘Hans’ Hugenholtz, is its ‘figure eight’ layout, with the 1.2 km (0.75 mi) long back straight passing over the front section via a flyover. It has a “figure eight” layout, making it one of only two FIA Grade 1 licenced tracks.

Suzuka, openly lauded by F1 drivers and fans as one of the most enjoyable, is also one of the oldest remaining Formula One World Championship tracks, and has hosted the Japanese Grand Prix since 1987. Because of its traditional role as one of the season’s final Grands Prix, the track has been the site of numerous world championships. In its early years, the circuit decided the world championship four years in a row. These include the 1988 championship won by Ayrton Senna, the contentious 1989 championship won by Alain Prost, and the 1990 and 1991 world championships won by Senna.

Other motorsport events held at Suzuka include the Suzuka 1000 km endurance race. Previously a part of several GT racing series, including the now-defunct group C class of the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship, the Suzuka 1000 km is now a points round of the Super GT Series and the only race of this length in that series as of 2006. The GT500 pole position time in 2010 was 1:55.237. The pole position time for the GT300 in 2007 was 2:06.838.

Track specifications

City	Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Opened	September 1962
Length	5.807 km
Turns	18
F1 lap record	1:30.983 (Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2019)

Most wins

The seven-time world champion, Michael Schumacher, is the most successful driver at the Suzuka Circuit with six wins to his name. Lewis Hamilton occupies P2 with five wins while P3 belongs to Sebastian Vettel with four wins. A total of 18 world titles among the three most successful Suzuka drivers

Driver	Wins
Michael Schumacher	6
Lewis Hamilton	5
Sebastian Vettel	4

Most pole positions

German driver Michael Schumacher is the man with the most poles at Suzuka with eight to his name. Sebastian Vettel occupies P2 with five poles at the track while the likes of Ayrton Senna and Nico Rosberg have three poles each.

Driver	Poles
Michael Schumacher	8
Sebastian Vettel	5
Ayrton Senna, Nico Rosberg	3

Most successful constructors

McLaren is the most successful constructor to have raced at the Suzuka Circuit nine wins to their names. Ferrari comes in at P2 with seven wins and Mercedes completes the podium with six wins.