Kazuki Nakajima will once again be the sole Japanese representative at his home Grand Prix this weekend. The Williams driver looks forward to his premiere Formula One race at Suzuka as the quest for his first points of the 2009 season continues.
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| After a two-year stint, Fuji is back off the Formula One calendar |
This time last year, Kazuki had already notched up a total of eight points in the Drivers' Championship. However, top eight finishes have not come at all so far this season as F1 travels to Suzuka for the first time in three years. "I kind of grew up around Suzuka," said Nakajima, who finished 15th for Williams at Fuji Speedway in 2008.
"I have been to the circuit many, many times and it's the place where I started karting. I've also watched countless races there, not just Formula One races, but many other forms of Japanese motorsport, so going to Suzuka feels like going home.
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"It has a very technically challenging layout. It's designed in a figure-of-eight shape, which has a mix of 16 slow and fast corners around the lap; one of my favourites is the famous 130R, which is really unforgiving. It's a really quick circuit, so you have to make sure you have a well-balanced setup or you're just punished the whole way round. The one thing you have to be careful of in Japan at this time of year is the weather, which can be really variable - but that could just make it more exciting!"
Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix will begin at 2pm local time (BST +8 / GMT +9).
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