Japanese Grand Prix

Honda built Suzuka in 1962 as a test track for its own cars, not a race circuit, and hired Dutch designer John Hugenholtz to lay it out — the result is the only figure-8 layout left in F1, crossing over itself via a bridge between Turn 8 and Turn 9. More world championships have been decided here than at any other circuit on the calendar: 13 titles settled at Suzuka, including some of the sport's most famous rivalries.

2027 marks Suzuka's first-ever Sprint weekend, adding a Saturday Sprint Race and second qualifying session to a circuit that already asks more of drivers than almost anywhere else — the flowing Esses, the high-speed 130R, and the technical final chicane are still driven flat-out by only the most confident. Mie Prefecture itself sits between Nagoya and Osaka, giving you a genuine choice of base city rather than a single circuit town.

Everything you need to plan the trip: costs, tickets, where to stay, where to eat, and the detail that only matters once you're actually going.