Will Tsunoda promotion pay off? — and four more Japanese GP questions

There is no doubt that Lawson will need a reset in Japan.

Lawson is far from the first driver to be demoted from the main team to Racing Bulls/Toro Rosso, and some of the drivers in a similar situation have gone on to re-establish themselves as solid racers (namely Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon).

The New Zealander will also face the tricky task of sharing the garage with a driver with even less experience in Isack Hadjar, so anything that’s not at least matching the Frenchman is likely to be seen as not good enough.

However, given the apparent more gentle nature of the Racing Bulls cars, Lawson’s demotion could also prove to be a blessing in disguise.

Will Red Bull struggle at one of its best tracks?

After two tough races in Australia and China, Red Bull — and especially Max Verstappen — arrives at Suzuka fully aware that the Japanese venue is likely to highlight the competitiveness, or lack, of its RB21 car.

Verstappen has been the dominant winner in Japan for the past three years, twice leading a Red Bull 1-2 miles ahead of the rest of the field.

Given its successful recent history, Suzuka will be something of a litmus test for the team. If Red Bull continues to be off the pace of its main rivals, chances are it will continue to struggle for a while, particularly at less favourable circuits.

Verstappen’s difficult races in China point to another challenging weekend in Japan, although given his dominance in the past three years, ruling out the four-time champion from a victory fight at Suzuka could prove naïve.

How will McLaren deal with Norris vs Piastri?

Considering how far ahead of its rivals McLaren has been in the first two races of the season, its biggest issue heading into the Japanese GP might be how it manages the situation of having two drivers capable of winning races.

Lando Norris took a convincing victory in Australia in very difficult conditions, while Oscar Piastri bounced back in style to win from pole in China.

Circumstances like Piastri spinning out in Melbourne and clearing the way for Norris, or the Briton not being quite a match for the Australian in China, have made it somewhat easier for McLaren to avoid having to deal with a delicate situation, but if, as expected, it continues to have to the leading car, tensions will inevitably rise.

If it manages to maintain a healthy gap to the rest of the pack, its two drivers stealing points from each other might not be seen as a huge deal, but not having a clear number one driver could eventually backfire further down the road if rivals start to close in.

How McLaren manages the situation early on could set the tone for the rest of the year.

What is Ferrari’s real pace?

After Lewis Hamilton took a popular victory in the sprint, Ferrari left China with little else to celebrate.

Despite Saturday’s victory, Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc finished a distant sixth and fifth respectively in the main race, only for both to be disqualified after failing post-race technical checks.

While the disqualification was a hard blow for the Scuderia, perhaps its race pace was the most worrying aspect of its weekend, as it was nowhere after showing strongly in the sprint.

The season-opening race in Australia was also a massive disappointment, and Ferrari finds itself in fifth place in the standings heading into Japan.

At Suzuka, the team will be hoping for a much stronger outing that will help it figure out where exactly is in the pecking order.