What Lewis, Felipe and co. really think about Japan

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
“I love Japan… The Japanese fans are some of my favourite in the world: so passionate, but really polite, charming and respectful. As for the race, one of the questions I get asked most is whether I prefer to drive in the rain: my answer is always the same, I’ll race in the wet or dry, I don’t mind. But it’s always easier for us drivers to race in the dry; I’d always prefer a dry race.”

Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren)
“There is no single corner at Fuji that particularly contributes to your laptime. It’s relatively easy to understand the corners, and it’s not a particularly tricky circuit. So it’s a place where you can’t afford to make any mistakes - you have to be absolutely precise and extract the maximum from your car to be fast.”

Fernando Alonso (Renault)
“The circuit has a very long straight and so aero settings will once again be crucial. There are also several medium and low speed corners and the last few turns in particular are taken in second gear. So the team will have to work hard to determine the level of downforce and the mechanical grip which will be especially important in the slow sections. We will be running a similar programme to that which we run at other tracks that we visit once a year… After our victory in Singapore, the whole team is determined to have those feelings again as soon as possible.”

Nick Heidfeld (BMW)
“I’m a bit hard on it as Suzuka was always my favourite GP track… (But) it’s a beautiful landscape, and the road from the hotel to the track could serve as an excellent rally special stage. I hope Mount Fuji is going to show its face again. Overall there doesn’t seem to be much going on in the area, but that’s fine after all the hustle and bustle of Singapore.”

Robert Kubica (BMW)
“This season we go to Fuji for the second year in a row. I guess everybody remembers last year’s Japanese Grand Prix as the weather conditions were crazy. It was extremely wet and visibility was poor. From a driver’s perspective the track is very interesting. There are some challenging corners with different radii and also some blind corners. Under dry conditions it was very enjoyable to drive, although the last sector is quite slow as there are a lot of tight corners.”

Jenson Button (Honda)
“The Japanese Grand Prix is always a special weekend for the team as our second home race of the season. Racing for a Japanese team, we always have fantastic support and the fans are so enthusiastic that it makes for a great atmosphere. For me, the true home of the Japanese Grand Prix is Suzuka, which is just one of the best circuits in the world, and I can’t wait to return there next year. However I did enjoy driving at the Fuji Speedway last year and the circuit has a nice mix of twisty corners and the high-speed pit straight.”

Kazuki Nakajima (Williams)
“I’m really excited about my home Grand Prix and this will be the first time I’ve been back to Fuji for three years. It used to be my F3 team’s home track so I lived in the area for a year. It feels really good to be going back, and this time I’ll be driving a Formula One car so I can’t wait. I think there will be some expectation from the fans because I’m the only Japanese driver at the moment so I’m a bit more nervous for this race. The atmosphere will be great though and I’ll just do my best to relax, enjoy the weekend and hopefully bring home some points.”

Nico Rosberg (Williams)
“After our second place in Singapore, we want to go to Japan with the same momentum and continue our high. Fuji Speedway might not be the best circuit for our car but weather could play a big part in the proceedings this weekend. Last year’s race was a washout and there’s a strong possibility it will rain again this year. If that happens, we’ll have a good chance of a strong finish as our car goes well in the wet.”

Rubens Barrichello (Honda)
“I was very impressed with the Fuji Speedway. The track is a lot more interesting than we originally thought with a nice flow and some tight challenging corners towards the end of the lap.”

Adrian Sutil (Force India)
“I have raced in Fuji a lot, perhaps more than any other driver in F1 as I spent a year doing Japanese Formula 3 in 2006. I had so many races there that year that it feels like my home track!”

Nelson Piquet (Renault)
“It’s another circuit that I don’t know and that I will have to learn. I will try to get up to speed as quickly as possible on Friday and make the most of the three hours of practice available to me. The team has some data from last year and so I have been preparing with that and will learn more with my engineers during our circuit walk on Thursday.”

As you may have noticed, no preview quotes yet from Ferrari. Still sulking from Singapore, boys?

We’ll add them to this story as soon as we have them.