Max Verstappen set the pace ahead of Sergio Perez in Friday’s opening practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, but it was another crash-prone FP1 for Williams.
Logan Sargent was lost at Turn 7, bringing out a red flag, leaving Williams anxiously waiting for the car to be returned to the garage to have the chassis checked as it still did not have a spare.
Max Verstappen sets the pace in Red Bull 1-2
In what is likely to be the only dry session of the weekend, Esteban Ocon complains about the “dangerous” Oscar Piastri as he leaves the garage to start the FP1 program, while George Russell is happy with the pitlane queue. However, Lando Norris set the top time. And Lance Stroll tried out Aston Martin’s new upgrade kit.
Only one new package containing the re-profiled sidepods is available, so Aston Martin opted to bolt it onto Stroll’s car, and Fernando Alonso reportedly took part in the second practice session. He is reportedly expected to receive it in advance, or at the latest during Saturday’s final practice.
Red Bull had an early problem with Max Verstappen, who had a problem with the left rear sidepod. Teammate Sergio Perez joined in on the action, setting the fastest time of 1:31.8, but Verstappen remained confined to the garage.
It didn’t take long for Red Bull to resolve the issue, with the Dutchman recording his first timed lap 15 minutes into the session. He finished ninth, also 0.8 seconds slower than Norris’ P1 time.
RB test driver Ayumu Iwasa replaced Daniel Ricciardo at the start of practice and recorded a time of 1 minute 34.8 seconds, placing the Japanese driver in 18th place on the timesheets. However, neither Stroll nor Alex Albon recorded any time.
And Verstappen recorded the fastest time!
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The Dutchman clocked a time of 1 minute 31.4 seconds, three tenths of a second ahead of Norris, and Alonso was third at the half mark, ahead of Perez, George Russell and Charles Leclerc. Stroll was 11th fastest in the improved AMR24, one second off the pace.
Lewis Hamilton, who switched to soft tires first, set the fastest time with a time of 1 minute 30.5 seconds, but Logan Sargent crashed his Williams, resulting in a red flag.
The American caught the edge of the grass and crashed his Williams hard into the Turn 7 nose barrier, before spinning out and hitting the rear. “Sorry, dude,” the Williams driver told his team.
Returning to the track with 18 minutes remaining, the drivers competed for position on their outlaps, with Verstappen and others swapping to soft Pirellis. The reigning world champion took the lead with a time of 1:30.0, with Perez moving into second place, 0.181 seconds behind.
Australian Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz was Red Bull’s closest challenger in third place, two-tenths behind Verstappen, finishing FP1 ahead of Russell and Hamilton, who split Ferrari with Leclerc in sixth place.
Iwasa was 16th, setting a personal best time, 8/10 seconds behind his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who moved up to 9th place.
times
1 Max Verstappen 1:30.056 18 laps
2 Sergio Perez +0.181 18 laps
3 Carlos Sainz +0.213 20 laps
4 George Russell +0.474 18 laps
5 Lewis Hamilton +0.487 23 laps
6 Charles Leclerc +0.502 18 laps
7 Fernando Alonso +0.543 20 laps
8 Oscar Piastri +1.109 23 laps
9 Hiroki Tsunoda +1.174 20 laps
10 Lando Norris +1.184 22 laps
11 Esteban Ocon +1.879 19 laps
12 Alexander Albon +1.887 18 laps
13 Nico Hulkenberg +1.902 19 laps
14 Valtteri Bottas +1.998 17 laps
15 Lance Stroll +1.999 17 laps
16 Ayumu Iwasa +2.047 22 laps
17 Pierre Gasly +2.221 23 laps
18 Zhou Guanyu +2.582 18 laps
19 Kevin Magnussen +2.747 21 laps
20 Logan Sargent +3.148 10 laps
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