Legendary F1 circuit undergoes renovations and it could be bad news for drivers

New photos have been released regarding the status of a much-loved F1 circuit as it undergoes renovations ahead of its return to the 2026 calendar.

Next year's F1 championship will see all 11 teams and 22 drivers thrown into the deep end as they grapple with the latest regulations change, which will come into play for 2026 and beyond.

To make matters worse, this year's winter break is shorter than usual, meaning there is less time for drivers to prepare between the 2025 and 2026 campaigns.

The countdown is on for pre-season testing, which will begin behind closed doors at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on January 26, 2026, and the season-opening Australian Grand Prix will then take place just over five weeks later.

The opening round of the 2026 season will be shortly followed by the Chinese and Japanese GP's, both of which also take place in March.

But despite the clock well and truly ticking, Suzuka Circuit have revealed that renovations are ongoing at the home of the Japanese F1 race, with the affected section being the 'West Course' of the racetrack, which includes the famous 'Spoon Curve'.

The area has been completely closed as the reconstruction work continues.

Suzuka under construction ahead of 2026 return

In a post via social media platform 'X', the official Suzuka circuit account shared images of the West Course road surface replacement work before revealing that asphalt pulled from the race track would be sold, with pricing and further details to be announced at a later date.

Suzuka Circuit has remained the permanent host of the Japanese GP since a forced break was implemented during the pandemic, with Lewis Hamilton remaining the driver on the current grid who holds the records for the most wins there.

But four-time champion Max Verstappen will be aiming to catch up to Hamilton's five grand prix victories at Suzuka next season having won all four races since the return of the track in 2022.

But it seems there could be trouble ahead for even the most experienced of champions as the 5.8km circuit as a new layer of asphalt is being laid on the track.

With just months to go until the Japanese GP, this construction work could cause difficulties for the drivers as they first take to the track in late March, with little grip likely to be found at first due to the new surface.

The track's partial facelift should not remain an issue by the time the 53-lap event rolls around, due to the fact that the more the track is used, the more rubber will build up on the surface, naturally increasing the grip.

However, the new surface could prove tricky to drive on for the F1 stars as they will still be learning the limits of their new machinery and the Japanese GP does not host either feeder series F2 or F3, meaning there will be less opportunity to improve the track's grip across the weekend.

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