Suzuka has to be one of the most exciting and incredible circuits not just to grace the Formula One calendar, but to have ever existed. The fabled Japanese venue, which is owned by Honda, features corners such as 130R, the Spoon curve, and the Degner Curves.
On a qualifying run, perhaps only the thrill and spectacle of Monaco comes close to matching or beating that of Suzuka. So, here is our setup guide for the famous Japanese Grand Prix in F1 22: a track that will excite and challenge you in equal measure.
To get to grips with each F1 setup component, check out the complete F1 22 setups guide.
These are the recommended settings for the best F1 22 Japan setup for dry and wet laps.
F1 22 Japan (Suzuka) setup
- Front Wing Aero: 27
- Rear Wing Aero: 38
- DT On Throttle: 60%
- DT Off Throttle: 50%
- Front Camber: -2.50
- Rear Camber: -2.00
- Front Toe: 0.05
- Rear Toe: 0.20
- Front Suspension: 7
- Rear Suspension: 1
- Front Anti-Roll Bar: 6
- Rear Anti-Roll Bar: 1
- Front Ride Height: 3
- Rear Ride Height: 4
- Brake Pressure: 100%
- Front Brake Bias: 50%
- Front Right Tyre Pressure: 25 psi
- Front Left Tyre Pressure: 25 psi
- Rear Right Tyre Pressure: 23 psi
- Rear Left Tyre Pressure: 23 psi
- Tyre Strategy (25% race): Soft-Medium
- Pit Window (25% race): 5-7 lap
- Fuel (25% race): +2.3 laps
F1 22 Japan (Suzuka) setup (wet)
- Front Wing Aero: 50
- Rear Wing Aero: 50
- DT On Throttle: 70%
- DT Off Throttle: 50%
- Front Camber: -2.50
- Rear Camber: -2.00
- Front Toe: 0.05
- Rear Toe: 0.20
- Front Suspension: 10
- Rear Suspension: 2
- Front Anti-Roll Bar: 10
- Rear Anti-Roll Bar: 2
- Front Ride Height: 4
- Rear Ride Height: 7
- Brake Pressure: 100%
- Front Brake Bias: 50%
- Front Right Tyre Pressure: 23.5 psi
- Front Left Tyre Pressure: 23.5 psi
- Rear Right Tyre Pressure: 23 psi
- Rear Left Tyre Pressure: 23 psi
- Tyre Strategy (25% race): Soft-Medium
- Pit Window (25% race): 5-7 lap
- Fuel (25% race): +2.3 laps
Aerodynamics
Whilst Suzuka has a couple of long straights, you won’t get close to overtaking somebody unless you have some strong cornering speed. To that end, higher levels of aero are required for the Esses, Degners, and Spoon, to name just a few of the corners.
Higher rear wing values will be what you need in both the wet and the dry, with the rear end being more likely to snap on you and for you to result in oversteer, as opposed to understeer, at this track.
Transmission
Transmission is something that you can take a relatively neutral approach to at Suzuka. While there aren’t too many truly slow-speed corners at the track, there are enough of them to show that you do need a good level of outright traction while also battling any tyre wear and sustained corner grip.
The Japanese Grand Prix isn’t too harsh on the tyres, as long as you get the setup right, so we have gone for an 60% and 50% mix on the on and off throttle differential settings, respectively.
Suspension Geometry
As you may have spotted, we have gone relatively aggressive when it comes to the camber settings on the car setup for the Japanese GP. Given the number of sustained corners like the Esses and Spoon at the Suzuka Circuit, you will need that lateral grip. With the settings elsewhere, such as on the differential and later on with the suspension and anti-roll bar, you shouldn’t suffer from tyre wear.
We have gone for a similarly aggressive setup when it comes to the toe angles as well. You need a sharp turn-in at Suzuka – it’s pretty much a required component of the car’s setup. A stable car is also required, although we have left a little margin for error with both the camber and toe. So, you may find that you have to fine-tune it to your own liking a little bit. Still, there isn’t any harm in going to an extreme and then easing back a bit.
Suspension
Suzuka is quite the bumpy venue, particularly as you come out of the final corner in F1 22 and head across the finish line. While the Japanese GP isn’t a tyre killer overall, the track can put a lot of stress through the tyres, so you don’t want an over sprung car either.
We’ve gone for a mixed anti-roll bar setup in the wet and dry, too, as the last thing that you want to do is kill the tyres or lose the responsiveness of the car. So, a softer front anti-roll bar setting can be complemented by a more rigid rear setting.
Regarding ride height, while we are going to see increased levels of drag, the higher values that we have set will keep your car stable over bumps and kerbs. Suzuka’s kerbs can be pretty harsh on the car and cause a lot of issues, so you’ll want that rear ride height raised as much as possible before things get a bit silly. This will allow you to tackle those kerbs more aggressively and, overall, extract a faster lap time from yourself and the car.
Brakes
With these brake setups, you can offset the risk of a lock-up thanks to the high brake pressure (100%), with only needing a few adjustments to the brake bias (50%) as a whole.
Tyres
An increase in tyre pressures can lead to an increase in tyre wear. Still, with the rest of the setup already in place, you hopefully won’t need to worry about this. So, bump up those tyre pressures up to get more straight-line speed out of your car.
The prime overtaking spots here are into the Casio Chicane at the end of the lap and down the start-finish straight with DRS. Get the straight-line speed correct, and you’ll be able to make those moves with ease.
So, this is our F1 setup guide to the Japanese GP. Suzuka is an old school, tight and twisty venue that still punishes mistakes in a big way, but it’s still a joy to drive, testing driver and machine to the limit.
Have you got your own Japanese Grand Prix setup? Share it with us in the comments below!
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