Max Verstappen was fastest in second practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver going three-tenths faster than Charles Leclerc. After being pushed off the top spot following his first soft run, Verstappen did a second later run setting a 30.688 to go fastest.
The Dutchman backing up the feeling following Carlos Sainz’s win in Singapore, that Red Bull had just a bad weekend going into this weekend its rivals expected them to bounce back to the form which has seen them win every race until Singapore. Lando Norris spilt the Ferrari’s, a tenth behind Leclerc and a tenth ahead of Sainz.
Red Bull delivering what we expected, Verstappen delivering a message, five days after Red Bull were defeated in Singapore – the first time they had lost a race all season.
Amid speculation in the paddock that their performance at Marina Bay could have been influenced by a technical directive clamping down on flexible floors, Verstappen was in imposing form from the moment he took to the track.
Verstappen’s progress on Friday suggested those claims were wide of the mark, his race runs were on average about a second faster than Leclerc and Sainz. Both Ferrari’s having a new floor, but Sainz looks faster than Perez and Norris, Alonso and Mercedes all in the mix.
Leclerc moved into second going nearly a tenth ahead in the closing laps of the qualifying sims, while Sainz continued to demonstrate Ferrari’s strong package by slotting into fourth, behind Norris.
George Russell put his Mercedes fifth he was six-tenths off Verstappen and two and a half tenths faster than Fernando Alonso. Mercedes looked to be struggling for pace in practice, as teammate Lewis Hamilton was only fourteenth a second off. Alex Albon put his Williams seventh going a tenth ahead of Oscar Piastri.
Sergio Perez was ninth ahead of Valtteri Bottas by three hundredths, as they completed the top ten.
Pierre Gasly brought the session to an early end, the Frenchman lost control at the notorious Degner Two corner, locking a front wheel before sliding off track and ripping off a front wheel on the barrier. The corner is one of the most demanding, on the circuit.
It is preceded by the Degner One, a much faster bend, and drivers have to brake for the second corner straight after flicking through the first. Before Gasly’s crash several drivers ran wide over the kerb there during the day but managed to stay in control.
Gasly’s accident was different. Locking his inside front wheel on the way in, he slid wide and onto the kerb, and once into the gravel a crash was almost inevitable as the run-off area is so short.
Lance Stroll put his Aston Martin eleventh, missing out on the top ten by three hundredths. But the Canadian was two hundredths ahead of Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg with Hamilton in fourteenth.
Liam Lawson was fifteenth going two hundredths faster than Guanyu Zhou, Kevin Magnussen and his Alpha Tauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Pierre Gasly was a tenth and a half faster than Logan Sargeant as they completed the field.
