The first Grand Prix of the year you attend always holds a special charm. You find yourself busier with catching up, networking, and shaking hands than with reporting, which is the primary task of the day. Japan is the ideal place for this.
Joost Bolle, my Belgian colleague and neighbor in the media center, said around noon exactly what I was thinking. ‘Nice and quiet here, isn’t it? So much space, so few people. I like coming here.’ The Japanese GP still has the reputation of being ‘an expensive one’: costly flight, pricey and small hotel rooms. However, all of this is quite manageable if you know your way around the world of air tickets and have the right connections. Also, the yen is not worth as much as it once was, compared to the euro.
Fewer journalists usually mean more time and space with the teams for appointments with drivers or other staff. Sochi used to be such a race and a significant reason to go there, as many colleagues avoided the desolate Olympic resort. Therefore, you knew in advance that at least three interview requests would be granted.
The first working day of 2025 on location passed quickly. The Japanese fans, always original and beautifully dressed, give you energy despite the jet lag. Everyone is cheerful and excited and poses with love if you ask. What also stands out every year: the unparalleled discipline. When I got off the train in Shiroko at 8:30 in the morning, there was already a long line of fans (see photo) neatly waiting for bus transportation to the circuit in the station square. The same at the Grand Prix square: at the LEGO stand where children with their parents can build free mini-F1 cars, everyone waits their turn patiently.In the media center, a familiar face took a seat right in front of me. Heikki Kovalainen, a single-time GP winner, is on-site as an analyst for the streaming service Viaplay. I’m curious to see if there’s a story to be made after his open-heart surgery last year. The Finn looks fit, healthy, and well-trained. He certainly does.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Peter van Egmond, our in-house photographer who passed away in early January after a tough battle with cancer. I thought about him all day on Thursday. Peter was a big fan of Japan and, as I’ve seen with my own eyes over the years, he was somewhat of a star among many fans. People wanted to take pictures with him – the big friendly photographer from the Netherlands. Sometimes, like many drivers, he would even receive a gift. I still remember a T-shirt that a fan had made for Peter: he was secretly very proud of it.
Three weeks ago, on behalf of our title, I laid a bouquet of roses on his grave. I miss him, as does his Czech colleague and friend Jiri. This morning, on the shuttle on the way to the circuit, Jiri could barely hold back his tears when we talked about Peter. The owner and his wife of the restaurant in Shiroko, where we have been coming for more than ten years, feel the same. They want a picture of Peter to give him a place in the restaurant where he came to eat night after night.
Big in Japan, however insignificant it may seem. Even after his death.
