Red Bull set the pace in the opening practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix, while Logan Sargeant suffered a big crash in his Williams.
Max Verstappen produced the quickest time in a disrupted opening hour of running with 1’30.056. That left him just under two tenths of a second faster than team mate Sergio Perez with Carlos Sainz Jnr third for Ferrari.
But the session was marred by another crash for Williams when Sargeant ran wide and onto the grass at the Dunlop Curve, resulting in him spinning into the barriers. He damaged the front and rear of his FW46, giving his team another headache as they remain without a spare chassis following Alexander Albon’s crash in Australia two weeks ago.
Overcast skies and cool conditions greeted drivers for the first grand prix session at Suzuka to be held in the month of April. Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa had the privilege of driving Daniel Ricciardo’s RB for the opening practice session of the weekend and naturally was one of the first drivers on track when the session began. The start of Iwasa’s session was slightly delayed in the garage while mechanics worked on the car, but was eventually able to take to the circuit to run a full programme.
Lewis Hamilton was the quickest at the mid point of the session having been the only driver to complete a lap on the soft tyres at that point. Practice was then brought to a halt with a red flag after Sargeant ran wide at the Dunlop Curve and spun into the barriers.
After a delay of around 10 minutes, the session resumed with just under 20 minutes remaining. Many teams tried out the soft tyres, with Verstappen setting the quickest time of the session with a 1’30.056. The session ended with the world champion quickest, just under two tenths ahead of team mate Perez.
Sainz was third-fastest for Ferrari ahead of the two Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Hamilton. Charles Leclerc was sixth in the second Ferrari, with Fernando Alonso seventh.
The McLaren pair, who qualified strongly at this race last year, were further down the order as their first laps on soft tyres were interrupted by Sargeant’s crash. Oscar Piastri was eighth ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Lando Norris completing the top 10 in the other McLaren. Iwasa was 16th during his free practice run out.
Naturally, Sargeant had the fewest laps in the session with just ten prior to his accident, while Lance Stroll had the fewest of drivers who completed the entire session with 17, despite carrying new parts…
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