Damon Hill has made an ‘exciting’ prediction for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix after discovering the weather forecast.
F1 heads to Suzuka this weekend for the fourth round of the 2024 world championship.
And Hill, who sealed his one and only world title at this circuit in 1996, predicted a thrilling weekend could be in store on his Instagram account.
Red Bull and Max Verstappen are looking to respond after a rare mechanical DNF last time out in Australia.
It was the first such retirement for the Dutchman since Melbourne 2022, and it allowed Carlos Sainz to lead home a Ferrari one-two.
Teammate Charles Leclerc has cut Verstappen’s lead at the top of the championship down to four points.
The title holder had won the first two races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in dominant fashion.
Verstappen has won 19 of the last 21 Grands Prix overall, with Sainz the only driver to stand in his way.
The Spaniard also took victory in Singapore last year, though on that occasion Red Bull simply struggled for pace rather than running into car trouble.
Damon Hill says rain could make Japanese GP ‘exciting’
According to the official Williams website, the risk of rain will be highest for Sunday’s race.
Practice should be dry, and while there’s only a 20% chance of rain for Saturday’s running, that will increase to 30% for the Grand Prix.
That means there’s a real possibility that we could see showers at some point before or during the 53 laps.
Hill wrote: “With weather forecasts predicting rain in Japan for this weekend, all I can say is….it makes for exciting racing!
“I’ll be nice and dry in the Sky F1 Studio in London though. Good luck everyone!”
In 2022, heavy rain saw the race red-flagged at just over half distance, but Verstappen was still able to seal his second title as he beat teammate Sergio Perez and Leclerc.
Japan, traditionally an autumn race, has moved to a spring slot for 2024 for logistical reasons.
It sits directly between Australia and China in the longest calendar in the sport’s history.
Red Bull bring upgrades to Suzuka
Any significant rainfall could stop us getting a clear picture of the pecking order at the front after Sainz’s unexpected victory.
There’s a feeling that Sainz’s victory at Albert Park wasn’t simply luck and that he did have the pace to compete with Verstappen regardless.
The Red Bull driver insisted he could have kept up with the Spaniard before his rear-brake issue worsened, but Ferrari had drawn confidence from their simulation data heading into the weekend.
As they try to reassert themselves at the head of the field, the expectation is that the Bulls will bring an upgrade package to their RB20.
Verstappen himself has been tight-lipped on the extent of the changes to the Adrian Newey-designed challenger.
Despite that, Hill has predicted that Sainz will land a second consecutive victory, denying Red Bull in back-to-back races for the first time since 2021.
The post ‘All I can say is’: Damon Hill makes 'exciting' Japanese GP prediction after seeing weather forecast appeared first on F1 Oversteer.