Japanese Grand Prix weather forecasts

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Rain poured all weekend during last year's Japanese Grand Prix

Early weather forecasts for the Japanese Grand Prix suggest the weekend will be cool with a chance of rain.

Here’s some useful information on weather forecasts for the F1 weekend at Fuji.

Fuji Speedway weather forecasts

If you’re looking for forecasts for Fuji Speedway for the Japanese Grand Prix there are a couple of pitfalls not to be caught out by. Forecasts for ‘Fuji’ can refer to the town of Fuji, which is several miles south-west of the circuit, and much lower. And some refer to Mount Fuji which, at its summit, is obviously much higher and far colder than the race circuit is.

First of all, here’s where the track is:


View Larger Map

The nearest towns we can find forecasts for Fuji Speedway are Gotemba (to the south) and Otsuki (in the Yamanashi prefecture, to the north). Here are long-term forecasts for those two towns:

These two forecasts tell a similar story: sub-20C temperatures all weekend, and the Otsuki forecast calls for rain in the morning. Of course we’re still several days away from the start of the action, and in a few days’ time we’ll have a clearer idea about potential rainfall.

If you know of any other reliable links for weather near Fuji, please post them below.

Webcams

Here are a few links where you can see recent images from the local area:

Rainfall radar

In the hours leading up to a session you can check this radar to get a picture of rainfall movements around the circuit. Refer to the map above to pinpoint the location of the track: Japan Meterological Agency.

Historically, when it rains on Fuji Speedway, it rains extremely hard. Last year’s near-torrential downpour meant the safety car was out for over half an hour. F1’s first ever visit to the track in 1976 was lashed with heavy rain forcing several drivers to withdraw. From sportscars to Formula Nippon, many other high-profile categories have had races ruined or abandoned because of Fuji’s rain.

Will we see the same again this year? Keep an eye on those weather forecasts. As ever, more updates will be posted in the weather watch thread on the forum.

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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6 comments on “Japanese Grand Prix weather forecasts”

  1. For an island nation with not a lot of space, there sure are a lot of golf courses!

    I hope it’s wet for the race weekend, but a managable wet like Monza, rather than flooding wet like Fuji’s last outing.

  2. yeah fuji’s last year monsoon was a bit overkill…

  3. Here’s hoping for a dry race this year!!

    Those sub 20 temperatures should play into McLaren’s hands though on the tyre heating front…

  4. Hello Keith,

    The world’s best motorsport photographer has an amusing take on the obsession F1 types have with weather forecasting…

    http://www.darrenheath.com/blogs.htm?big=49

  5. Ajokay – You could say the same of Britain

    Stuart – I thought every F1 fan wanted wet races until I saw Adrian’s comment. Darren’s pics are fantastic – love the ones from Singapore:

    http://www.darrenheath.com/portfolio.htm?year=2008&cat=1&sub=44&l=12&o=24

    Have fun in Fuji! Take an anorak…

  6. No need for the anorak today – 24C and sunny. Mt Fuji is hiding behind a cloud, though.

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