Oscar Piastri leads in the second practice.
Second part of free practice
Sunny. Dry. Air +17°C, track +34…25°C
Warm weather, blooming sakura, and packed grandstands greeted the drivers in Japan's Suzuka. The only hindrance was the changeable wind, which caused many to spin out in the Spoon corner during the first practice.
Norris lost twenty minutes in the first session and almost forty in the second due to a hydraulic leak. Perez's Cadillac had brake issues. Lindblad returned to the pit lane due to gearbox problems and did not go out again.
At the 15-minute mark, Albon stopped at the first corner – the throttle pedal was not working, but after a system restart, he was able to get going again.
Bortoleto returned to the pits due to issues with the Audi power unit – and was only able to rejoin ten minutes before the end of the session.
Colapinto was warming up his tires on the out lap – and interfered with Verstappen, who was on a fast lap. The stewards noted the incident.
Oscar Piastri topped the second practice session, setting the best lap at 1:30.133.
Second part of free practice
Driver
Team
Time
Difference
Laps
1. O. Piastri
McLaren
1:30.133
-
29
2. K. Antonelli
Mercedes
1:30.225
+0.092
28
3. D. Russell
Mercedes
1:30.338
+0.205
29
4. L. Norris
McLaren
1:30.649
+0.516
17
5. C. Leclerc
Ferrari
1:30.846
+0.713
28
6. L. Hamilton
Ferrari
1:30.980
+0.847
27
7. N. Hülkenberg
Audi
1:31.441
+1.308
27
8. A. Albon
Williams
1:31.496
+1.363
30
9. O. Berman
Haas
1:31.498
+1.365
28
10. M. Verstappen
Red Bull
1:31.509
+1.376
29
11. E. Ocon
Haas
1:31.532
+1.399
30
12. L. Lawson
Racing Bulls
1:31.590
+1.457
31
13. C. Sainz
Williams
1:31.608
+1.475
30
14. P. Gasly
Alpine
1:31.734
+1.601
29
15. A. Hadjar
Red Bull
1:31.759
+1.626
29
16. G. Bortoleto
Audi
1:31.933
+1.800
11
17. F. Colapinto
Alpine
1:32.438
+2.305
28
18. V. Bottas
Cadillac
1:32.615
+2.482
28
19. F. Alonso
Aston Martin
1:33.596
+3.463
24
20. S. Perez
Cadillac
1:33.689
+3.556
14
21. L. Stroll
Aston Martin
1:33.951
+3.818
21
22. A. Lindblad
Racing Bulls
1
First part of free practice
Sunny. Dry. Air +16°C, track +36…37°C
The morning in Suzuka was dry and sunny, but windy. The drivers rushed onto the track from the very first minutes. Teams brought many new items, with many going out with aerodynamic sensors and paint.
In Aston Martin, young Jack Crawford took the wheel of Fernando Alonso's car, who missed the previous day's press engagements due to the birth of his first child. Fernando arrived in Suzuka in the morning and observed his work from the pits.
Norris returned the car to the mechanics without setting a time but then went out, losing the first 20 minutes.
Russell, Lindblad, Lawson, Norris, and Leclerc went off track without consequences for their cars. Albon spun into the gravel at the exit of the ninth corner and nearly crashed, hitting the barrier with his left rear wheel.
Lawson and Sainz had a disagreement on the track before the 11th corner's hairpin. Liam was unhappy with Carlos's actions, who first overtook him and then drove slowly in front of him.
Perez and Albon collided in an attempt to fight for position in the chicane, with pieces of carbon flying off, and both drivers headed to the pits. The stewards will review this incident after the session.
The protocol was led by George Russell, who set the best lap at 1:31.666. The entire top ten was within one second.
First part of free practice
Driver
Team
Time
Difference
Laps
1. D. Russell
Mercedes
1:31.666
1:31.666
27
2. K. Antonelli
Mercedes
1:31.692
+0.026
26
3. L. Norris
McLaren
1:31.798
+0.132
20
4. O. Piastri
McLaren
1:31.865
+0.199
23
5. C. Leclerc
Ferrari
1:31.955
+0.289
25
6. L. Hamilton
Ferrari
1:32.040
+0.374
23
7. M. Verstappen
Red Bull
1:32.457
+0.791
27
8. L. Lawson
Racing Bulls
1:32.529
+0.863
27
9. E. Ocon
Haas
1:32.601
+0.935
23
10. A. Lindblad
Racing Bulls
1:32.665
+0.999
29
11. G. Bortoleto
Audi
1:32.759
+1.093
26
12. N. Hülkenberg
Audi
1:32.798
+1.132
26
13. A. Hadjar
Red Bull
1:32.803
+1.137
27
14. O. Berman
Haas
1:32.900
+1.234
27
15. P. Gasly
Alpine
1:32.978
+1.312
25
16. F. Colapinto
Alpine
1:33.361
+1.695
24
17. C. Sainz
Williams
1:33.383
+1.717
26
18. A. Albon
Williams
1:33.697
+2.031
22
19. S. Perez
Cadillac
1:34.221
+2.555
18
20. V. Bottas
Cadillac
1:34.490
+2.824
24
21. L. Stroll
Aston Martin
1:35.294
+3.628
22
22. J. Crawford
Aston Martin
1:36.362
+4.696
11
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