Red flag ends session as F1 champion TOILS in Japanese Grand Prix practice
Red flag ends session as F1 champion TOILS in Japanese Grand Prix practice
Max Verstappen once again topped the timesheets in FP2 at the Japanese Grand Prix, before a red flag ended the session early after Pierre Gasly crashed into the barriers.
The largely incident-free session, which was the first real indication as to where each team is at this weekend, was dominated by Verstappen who managed to finish 0.320 seconds ahead of second-placed Charles Leclerc.
Lando Norris came home in third after looking very strong on the soft tyres, with the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz in fourth ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.
Lewis Hamilton in the other Mercedes, however, struggled to make an impression.
Verstappen making up for Singapore
The world championship leader looks like a man with a point to prove following a disappointing weekend last time out in Singapore, where he was off the pace all weekend.
He has been by far the fastest driver in the first two practice sessions, and will be looking to claim his first pole position since the Dutch GP on Saturday.
Red Bull hope to clinch the constructors' world championship this weekend, and Verstappen's pace will give them great confidence that they can do that, despite Perez's uninspiring performance.
Battle for front row hotting up
Behind Verstappen, there looks to be a huge scrap for the front two rows once again, with the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz going quick, and Norris flying along nicely in the McLaren.
Norris' team-mate Piastri also looked strong, as he celebrates signing a new contract that will keep him with the team until the end of 2026.
Perez was over a second off the pace but, with Red Bull looking much stronger than they were in Singapore, expect him to be in the mix too.
READ MORE: McLaren announce HUGE contract extension for rising star driver
Mercedes seemingly off the pace
Having been supremely quick last weekend in their challenge for both pole position and the race win, Mercedes are once again showing their inconsistencies, with their car clearly off the pace at Suzuka.
They finished 13th and 16th in FP1 and, although a good lap from Russell put him in the top five, Hamilton found himself down in 14th.
Japanese Grand Prix FP2 practice results - Friday September 22
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull): 1:30.688s
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): +0.320s
3. Lando Norris (McLaren): +0.464s
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari): +0.549s
5. George Russell (Mercedes): +0.640s
6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): +0.804s
7. Alex Albon (Williams): +0.867s
8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren): +0.974s
9. Sergio Perez (Red Bull): +1.022s
10. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo): +1.051s
11. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin): +1.083s
12. Esteban Ocon (Alpine): +1.106s
13. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas): +1.109s
14. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): +1.141s
15. Liam Lawson (AlphaTauri): +1.453s
16. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo): +1.477s
17. Kevin Magnussen (Haas): +1.481s
18. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri): +1.490s
19. Pierre Gasly (Alpine): +1.491s
20. Logan Sargeant (Williams): +1.632s
READ MORE: Unstoppable Verstappen is a MAJOR PROBLEM for F1
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F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
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