Japan – Free Practice 1: Mercedes Outclasses Ferrari, Saturday’s Sessions Cancelled

The first host on Friday was named Hagibis. As feared, the typhoon led the FIA to announce before the first practice sessions that Saturday’s sessions would not take place. Free practice 3 is canceled, and the qualifying is postponed to Sunday morning at 10 a.m. (3 a.m. in France).

The announcement made, the first free practice session began with Carlos Sainz Jr. stopping on the track after only one minute. The incident led to a Virtual Safety Car. The McLaren driver suffered an electrical problem, quickly fixed by the team.

The flag returned to green, Lewis Hamilton quickly took the lead with a time of 1:30.832 on medium tires, less than a tenth ahead of his teammate Valteri Bottas. The Ferraris and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, on softs, exchanged the third place.

At the arrival of the second set of tires forty minutes from the end, with soft tires for everyone, Vettel took the lead with a 1:29.720. The Mercedes were quick to respond. Bottas clocked a 1:28.731, less than a tenth ahead of Hamilton but a second faster than Vettel and Leclerc.

The Red Bull of Max Verstappen finishes in fifth position, 1.315 behind Bottas. His teammate Albon, invisible in Russia, finishes just behind.

The unfortunate at the start of the session, Carlos Sainz Jr, managed to place his McLaren as the best of the rest, 1.971 behind Bottas.

For his first outing in Formula 1, Naoki Yamamoto, who replaced Pierre Gasly for this session, finished 17th with his Toro Rosso, less than a tenth behind his teammate Daniil Kvyat. The Japanese driver, champion of the 2018 Super Formula and Super GT, knows the Suzuka circuit by heart. He did not fail to thank his team at the end of the session for the opportunity he was given.

Note that no driver improved in their second timed lap with the same set of tires.