Oscar Piastri of McLaren set the pace in a Friday practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix that was significantly hampered by four red flags. Two of these flags were due to fires breaking out on the grass alongside the track.
Australian driver Piastri, fresh off his victory in the previous race in China, managed to complete a fastest lap of 1:28.114 between the numerous interruptions. This secured him the top spot on a day that was sunny but cool at the Suzuka circuit.
Lando Norris, Piastri`s teammate and current championship contender, had been quickest in the earlier first practice session and finished second in this session. He was approximately four-tenths of a second ahead of Isack Hadjar, a rookie from the Racing Bulls team representing France.
The frequent stoppages in the second session meant several drivers missed opportunities for extended runs. This leaves a considerable amount of setup work for teams and drivers to address in the final practice session before Saturday`s qualifying.
The second practice had barely begun when Jack Doohan of Alpine lost control at the first corner, veered across the gravel trap, and collided heavily with the barrier.
Doohan, who was substituting for reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa in first practice, appeared visibly shaken as he was assisted away from his damaged car.
The session was paused for 22 minutes following Doohan`s crash. Just three minutes after the restart, another red flag was issued when Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin went off track, becoming stuck in the gravel.
After a seven-minute delay, only five minutes of running were possible before a fire erupted in the grass by the side of the track, causing the red flags to be waved once more.
Piastri managed to set his leading lap time, edging out Norris, before yet another grass fire, possibly ignited by sparks from a passing car, brought the session to an early conclusion.
The disruptions were disappointing for the spectators. Earlier, they had cheered Yuki Tsunoda, Japan`s local driver, who achieved the sixth fastest time in the first session for Red Bull. Tsunoda recently replaced Liam Lawson in the Racing Bulls team the previous week.
Significantly, Tsunoda was only a tenth of a second behind his teammate, Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion, who was fifth fastest. This represents a marked improvement in pace compared to Lawson`s performance in the initial two races of the season.
Verstappen from the Netherlands reported understeer issues in the second session, where he finished more than half a second off the pace, recording the eighth fastest time.
Lawson, now back with Racing Bulls, could only manage the 13th fastest time in the first session but improved to fifth in the second practice.
Mercedes will find some encouragement in George Russell`s performance, who was at the front for much of the first session and ultimately recorded the second fastest lap, ahead of Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in third and fourth places respectively.
