Circuit of the past · Oyama
The circuit at the foot of Mount Fuji hosted the first Japanese Grand Prix in World Championship history, the 1976 season finale. In pouring rain Niki Lauda pulled out after two laps, judging the race too dangerous; James Hunt finished third to become champion by a single point, and the race was won by Mario Andretti. In 1977 Gilles Villeneuve’s car was launched into an area closed to spectators after a collision, and two people there were killed; the Japanese Grand Prix then left the calendar for many years.
In 2007 and 2008, after the circuit had been rebuilt by its owner Toyota, the Japanese Grand Prix was held at Fuji again. In 2007 the race started behind the safety car in torrential rain and was won by Lewis Hamilton; in 2008 the winner was Fernando Alonso. From 2009 the Japanese round went back to Suzuka.
The lap record is per circuit layout. Calculated by Gridlap from f1db history and the season’s results