Leclerc: The pace is decent, but the gap is still quite large.

      At Ferrari, during the practice sessions at the Suzuka track, they focused on working with the settings of the SF-26, noting that the condition of the asphalt gradually improved throughout the day. Both sessions went smoothly overall, and the team gathered a large amount of information in preparation for qualifying and the race, striving to achieve optimal balance.

      Charles Leclerc (5th): "Compared to the previous two races, today was more challenging – however, this is just the first day of the Japanese weekend. It seems that our pace is decent, although the gap to the leaders is still quite large. Right now, all attention needs to be focused on increasing speed in qualifying mode."

      Lewis Hamilton (6th): "Today wasn't the easiest day. The feeling behind the wheel is generally not too bad, but we are still a bit lacking in pace, and the balance is not at the level we would like it to be.

      But we continue to work with the car, and tonight we need to put in a good effort to improve the settings and try to make a step forward.

      There are areas where we can definitely gain, including the use of hybrid system energy, but if we can bring everything together, we can extract more from the car."