JAPANESE GP – Max Verstappen bounces back from Singapore topping FP1 by six-tenths from Carlos Sainz
Max Verstappen bounced back from a difficult weekend in Singapore to top first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver went six-tenths faster that the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, with a fastest time of 31.647.
Many had thought that Red Bull would bounce back following a poor weekend in Singapore, but soon went fastest with a 33.719 before improving by nearly two seconds. Verstappen soon hit the ground running going fastest on the prototype tyre as Pirelli used the session to finalise next years tyres.
Norris put his McLaren third seven-tenths off the pace and ahead of Charles Leclerc by nearly two-tenths. The Englishman managed that on his only soft run in the session. Leclerc was three tenths off teammate Sainz with Ferrari the only team to have both drivers in the top ten.
Leclerc did however make a mistake at the hairpin going wide through the gravel, just before the Ferrari’s were split by Norris. Norris left it late to go third fastest for McLaren ahead of Leclerc, who made it two Ferraris in the top four, although he was three-tenths of his teammate, Sainz.
Yuki Tsunoda was fifth ahead of his home grand prix, the Japanese driver two thousandths behind Leclerc and ahead of the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso by half a tenth. The track improved rapidly, and Tsunoda showing it by jumping up the order. Oscar Piastri another driver who jumped up the order from sixteenth to seventh, going six hundredths behind Alonso.
Alonso put his Aston Martin seventh going nearly four-tenths faster than Piastri, butt the session saw several late changes in the order as the track improved. Alex Albon was eighth ahead of Liam Lawson and Lance Stroll completing the top ten. Stroll returning after missing Singapore after crashing in qualifying.
Several late changes and improvements saw Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell pushed out of the top ten. Perez a second and three-tenths off Verstappen and just over a tenth faster than Pierre Gasly, after the Mexican made a mistake at the final chicane.
Neither Mercedes, however, managed a lap on the soft tyre, Russell thirteenth four tenths faster than Hamilton in sixteenth.
Nico Hulkenberg was fourteenth nearly seven hundredths ahead of Esteban Ocon, the second Alpine near four tenths behind teammate Gasly, with Hamilton two further tenths behind in sixteenth.
Valtteri Bottas was six hundredths behind his former teammate Hamilton and a tenth. faster than Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant, while his Alfa Romeo teammate Guanyu Zhou rounded out the field.