Lando Norris closed out Japanese Grand Prix practice with the fastest time, just 0.026 seconds ahead of McLaren Formula 1 team-mate Oscar Piastri, as the session faced two red flags due to grass fires.
The championship leader aborted two hot laps during his late-session qualifying simulations on soft tyres due to minor wide moments on the exit of the second Degner corner, but rallied on his third attempt to set a 1m27.965s.
Although Norris did not beat his best first sector time on that lap, he found further improvement in the final two sectors to snatch the best lap from Piastri.
This could not be beaten in the late-session flurry of hot laps of soft tyres; Norris’s timesheet-topper was followed by a grass fire – the second of the session – on the grass alongside 130R.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto had run marginally wide here on the entry to the flat-out left-hander, and just about saved his car from spinning off into the opposite wall. Moments later, the grass here caught fire to bring the session to a close.
Despite overnight attempts to quell any further grass fires, the first of the two FP3 red flags was brought out after just six minutes of running, as the island of grass between Turn 12 and the chicane used for motorbike racing at the Suzuka course was ignited.
George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Peter Fox – Getty Images
This led to a short seven-minute delay, leaving Max Verstappen’s first timed run on hards perched at the top of the order. But his time was quickly brushed aside by a series of soft-tyre laps on the restart, as Norris shuffled ahead on his first play for a lap; in turn, the Briton was deposed by the two Ferraris.
Piastri then reclaimed top spot, bringing the times into the 1m28s ballpark, before George Russell eclipsed him at the head of the leaderboard. The Australian bounced back to sink below the 1m27s bracket, which Russell found himself almost a tenth shy of entering – but this was simply the prelude to Norris’s later move to the top.
Russell shook out in third ahead of Charles Leclerc, while Verstappen got a late upgrade to fifth after his initial soft tyre run – he had been just a tenth ahead of new team-mate Yuki Tsunoda before the Dutchman was offered a second attempt. He found the car “undriveable” at certain corners, after being offered a chance of a change in diff settings by engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
Lewis Hamilton was sixth ahead of Alex Albon, who sat ahead of Pierre Gasly, Tsunoda – who didn’t get a chance to close in on Verstappen late into the session – and Isack Hadjar. Carlos Sainz was 11th, after surviving an excursion at Turn 6 due to a snap of oversteer.
Both Verstappen and Piastri were pinged by the stewards having appeared to not follow the race director’s instructions governing practice starts on the pitlane exit.
F1 Japanese GP – FP3 results
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Jake Boxall-Legge
Formula 1
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“I think the people at Racing Bulls were a bit surprised themselves by the good car they’ve built this year,” Max Verstappen told reporters on Thursday at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Two weeks ago in China, the world champion made it clear that his struggling team-mate Liam Lawson would be faster in the Racing Bulls car than in Red Bull’s RB21, mainly because the VCARB 02 is “easier to drive”.
During Friday’s practice sessions in Suzuka, Verstappen’s claim appeared to hold up. In FP2 Isack Hadjar secured third, just four tenths of a second behind the fastest McLarens, while the newly demoted Lawson finished in P5, right behind Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen was eighth, though the margin to his now former team-mate was measurable in the hundredths of a second.
The result gives credence to what all the drivers in the Red Bull family said after practice. Lawson mentioned that the VCARB02 has a “wider operating window” than the Red Bull car, essentially confirming what everyone in the paddock already suspected.
Verstappen, in turn, admitted that Red Bull is yet to fully resolve its issues. The team introduced some small updates to the car this weekend – most likely signed off for production before the start of the season – but the four-time world champion concluded there is still work to do: “We tried various things with the car, but a lot of them didn’t work as we had hoped.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
New Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda, whose P18 wasn’t representative since one of the four red flags forced him to skip his qualifying-simulation run, also acknowledged that he had been “struggling somewhat”.
PLUS: How Tsunoda and Verstappen’s laps compare on eye-opening first day in Japan
The first practice session went better than expected, according to Tsunoda, but afterwards he found that the RB21 felt significantly different than it did in the simulator.
Tsunoda was more upbeat before getting in the car, saying that based on simulator runs the car’s difficulty had been somewhat exaggerated. Afterwards he admitted its real-life performance painted a different picture.
Comparing Verstappen’s and Hadjar’s laps
Tsunoda’s comments highlight that the Racing Bulls car is at least more driver-friendly than the Red Bull, although the RB21 should still have a slightly higher performance ceiling. But there are important caveats to Friday’s results.
A closer look at the data reveals Racing Bulls mainly gained time over Verstappen on the straights – just as Tsunoda was faster in straight-line sections during the first practice.
This could theoretically indicate something about set-up choices, but it’s more likely fuel levels and engine modes played a role – factors that could also explain why Tsunoda was relatively fast, perhaps to make a strong impression in front of his home crowd.
Photo by: F1-Tempo
Red Bull boss Christian Horner naturally denied his team artificially boosted Tsunoda’s FP1 performance in this way but, given the situation, he would say that, wouldn’t he?
Nevertheless, the data shows Tsunoda mainly gained time in various traction phases in FP1.
When comparing Hadjar’s (P3) and Verstappen’s (P8) laps in FP2, a similar trend emerges. Verstappen was about two and a half tenths faster than Hadjar coming out of the Esses, as illustrated in the telemetry image above. Lawson mentioned that the Esses have become even more intense due to the new asphalt, almost “pulling drivers’ heads off their shoulders”.
Looking at our other telemetry overlay, below, adds some important context to this. Most of the full-throttle sections are highlighted in white, indicating that Hadjar gained most of his time in these areas – particularly in traction phases.
At the hairpin and when entering Spoon, Verstappen gains time again – just as he did in the Esses – putting him 0.130s ahead of Hadjar’s lap time as he exits Spoon. That advantage is then negated on the full-throttle stretch leading to the final chicane, emphasising that the Racing Bulls car is gaining on the straights.
This is further reinforced by the fact Verstappen went through 130R faster than Hadjar. After accelerating out of the final chicane, Verstappen is just slightly ahead of Hadjar’s delta time but, in the sprint to the finish line, this turns into a 0.152s advantage for the Racing Bulls driver.
Photo by: F1-Tempo
The overall picture shows that, while Racing Bulls performed surprisingly well and Red Bull still has a lot of work to do at Suzuka, the sight of both sister-team cars ahead of Verstappen may not be entirely representative.
There are many ‘hidden’ variables during Friday practice. For instance, Helmut Marko has frequently pointed out that Red Bull tends to run cautious engine modes in these sessions – which, while not explaining away the RB21’s vices, is an important factor to keep in mind when analysing the results.
Do the long runs on Friday actually mean anything?
Most teams factor a race simulation into their FP2 run plans, which we can analyse to give some insight into race pace. Circumstances at Suzuka rendered that more challenging than usual.
Four red flags made for a staccato second practice session that yielded little useful data, meaning the numbers below – sourced from data partner PACETEQ – are based on the first session. Here the run plans are different and usually a little shorter.
Despite this, the overview confirms McLaren is strong and once again the clear favourite this weekend. Lando Norris recorded the fastest extended run while also maintaining relatively low tyre degradation – despite his radio complaints about graining.
Behind, the order is less definitive. For instance, Aston Martin’s runs were very short and showed significant tyre wear, so its pace would have inevitably dropped over a longer stint. The same applies to the next name on the list, who doesn’t really belong there: Nico Hulkenberg.
All things considered, George Russell emerged as McLaren’s closest challenger – a position with which Norris and Oscar Piastri concurred. The Mercedes driver was about 0.32s per lap slower, placing him just ahead of the Ferraris.
Red Bull’s numbers, on the other hand, look significantly worse, with two key caveats. First, the long runs in this session weren’t particularly telling.
Second, the overall picture only confirms what Verstappen already acknowledged: Friday was a tough day for Red Bull, a team that has a lot of work ahead.
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Ronald Vording
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RB
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“I think the people at Racing Bulls were a bit surprised themselves by the good car they’ve built this year,” Max Verstappen told reporters on Thursday at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Two weeks ago in China, the world champion made it clear that his struggling team-mate Liam Lawson would be faster in the Racing Bulls car than in Red Bull’s RB21, mainly because the VCARB 02 is “easier to drive”.
During Friday’s practice sessions in Suzuka, Verstappen’s claim appeared to hold up. In FP2 Isack Hadjar secured P3, just four-tenths of a second behind the fastest McLarens, while the newly demoted Lawson finished in P5, right behind Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen was eighth, though the margin to his now former team-mate was measurable in the hundredths of a second.
The result gives credence to what all the drivers in the Red Bull family said after practice. Lawson mentioned that the VCARB02 has a “wider operating window” than the Red Bull car, essentially confirming what everyone in the paddock already suspected.
Verstappen, in turn, admitted that Red Bull is yet to fully resolve its issues. The team introduced some small updates to the car this weekend – most likely signed off for production before the start of the season – but the four-time world champion concluded there is still work to do: “We tried various things with the car, but a lot of them didn’t work as we had hoped.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
New Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda, whose P18 wasn’t representative since one of the four red flags forced him to skip his qualifying-simulation run, also acknowledged that he had been “struggling somewhat”.
The first practice session went better than expected, according to Tsunoda, but afterwards he found that the RB21 felt significantly different than it did in the simulator.
Tsunoda was more upbeat before getting in the car, saying that based on simulator runs the car’s difficulty had been somewhat exaggerated. Afterwards he admitted its real-life performance painted a different picture.
Comparing Verstappen’s and Hadjar’s Laps
Tsunoda’s comments highlight that the Racing Bulls car is at least more driver-friendly than the Red Bull, although the RB21 should still have a slightly higher performance ceiling. But there are important caveats to Friday’s results.
A closer look at the data reveals Racing Bulls mainly gained time over Verstappen on the straights – just as Tsunoda was faster in straight-line sections during the first practice.
This could theoretically indicate something about set-up choices, but it’s more likely fuel levels and engine modes played a role – factors that could also explain why Tsunoda was relatively fast, perhaps to make a strong impression in front of his home crowd.
Photo by: F1-Tempo
Red Bull boss Christian Horner naturally denied his team artificially boosted Yuki’s FP1 performance in this way but, given the situation, he would say that, wouldn’t he?
Nevertheless, the data shows Tsunoda mainly gained time in various traction phases in FP1.
When comparing Hadjar’s (P3) and Verstappen’s (P8) laps in FP2, a similar trend emerges. Verstappen was about two and a half tenths faster than Hadjar coming out of the Esses, as illustrated in the telemetry image above. Lawson mentioned that the Esses have become even more intense due to the new asphalt, almost “pulling drivers’ heads off their shoulders”.
Looking at our other telemetry overlay, below, adds some important context to this. Most of the full-throttle sections are highlighted in white, indicating that Hadjar gained most of his time in these areas – particularly in traction phases.
At the hairpin and when entering Spoon, Verstappen gains time again – just as he did in the Esses – putting him 0.130 seconds ahead of Hadjar’s lap time as he exits Spoon. That advantage is then negated on the full-throttle stretch leading to the final chicane, emphasising that the Racing Bulls car is gaining on the straights.
This is further reinforced by the fact that Verstappen went through 130R faster than Hadjar. After accelerating out of the final chicane, Verstappen is just slightly ahead of Hadjar’s delta time but, in the sprint to the finish line, this turns into a 0.152-second advantage for the Racing Bulls driver.
Photo by: F1-Tempo
The overall picture shows that while Racing Bulls performed surprisingly well and Red Bull still has a lot of work to do in Suzuka, the sight of both sister-team cars ahead of Verstappen may not be entirely representative.
There are many ‘hidden’ variables during Friday practice. For instance, Helmut Marko has frequently pointed out that Red Bull tends to run cautious engine modes in these sessions – which, while not explaining away the RB21’s vices, is an important factor to keep in mind when analysing the results.
Do the long runs on Friday actually mean anything?
Most teams factor a race simulation into their FP2 run plans, which we can analyse to give some insight into race pace. Circumstances at Suzuka rendered that more challenging than usual.
Four red flags made for a staccato second practice session which yielded little useful data, meaning the numbers below – sourced from data partner PACETEQ – are based on the first session. Here the run plans are different and usually a little shorter.
Despite this, the overview confirms McLaren is strong and once again the clear favourite this weekend. Lando Norris recorded the fastest extended run while also maintaining relatively low tyre degradation – despite his radio complaints about graining.
Behind, the order is less definitive. For instance, Aston Martin’s runs were very short and showed significant tyre wear, so its pace would have inevitably dropped over a longer stint. The same applies to the next name on the list, who doesn’t really belong there: Nico Hulkenberg.
All things considered, George Russell emerged as McLaren’s closest challenger – a position with which Norris and Oscar Piastri concurred. The Mercedes driver was about 0.32 seconds per lap slower, placing him just ahead of the Ferrari duo.
Red Bull’s numbers, on the other hand, look significantly worse, with two key caveats. First, the long runs in this session weren’t particularly telling.
Second, the overall picture only confirms what Verstappen already acknowledged: Friday was a tough day for Red Bull, a team which has a lot of work ahead.
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Ronald Vording
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Red Bull Racing
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Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso was left confused by his spin during second practice for the Japanese Grand Prix and suggested it may have been caused by a gust of wind.
The Aston Martin driver lost control at the entry to Suzuka’s Turn 8 and spun across the gravel resulting in his AMR25 becoming beached, with FP2’s second red-flag period subsequently happening.
Alonso was the second driver to spin off during the session after Alpine rookie Jack Doohan crashed at Turn 1 having not closed his DRS heading into the high-speed bend.
The Spaniard said: “I need to review it. I lost the car in a weird way, it’s very windy and very gusty out there, and the car is a little bit critical. But yeah, I don’t know if I put a tyre on the grass or something.”
That appears to be exactly what happened. This section of the lap is more technically challenging than it looks since the cars must shed speed at the last of the ‘S’ corners, then build it up again through the constant-radius Nippon curve that follows.
The first Degner Curve, Turn 8, is more open than the second, so the drivers look to carry as much speed through there as possible.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing crash
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
To do this, drivers naturally move to the left-hand extremities of the track to open out the right-hander. Analysis of the onboard footage clearly shows Alonso straying over the white line on the approach, with his left-front wheel on the grass as he passes the 50-metre board.
The left-front was fully on the grass when he began to steer right. This unsettled the car’s rear end, which Alonso tried to correct by jinking the wheel back to the left before steering right again.
But, by this point, the AMR25 was on a trajectory that caused it to miss the apex of the corner and, despite Alonso applying more right-hand steering lock, momentum carried the car onto the kerbs. From there, he was a passenger.
Whether there was a gust of wind at the critical moment only the telemetry is likely to show, but all the drivers complained about having a headwind through the ‘S’ curves during practice. On the run into the Degners, the wind would have been blowing from right to left, and slightly to the rear of the car.
Despite this setback, Alonso remained optimistic for the rest of the Japanese weekend.
“I think we’re slightly more competitive than in China [he retired having started 13th],” he said. “So hopefully Q3 is possible tomorrow.”
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Stuart Codling
Formula 1
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Aston Martin Racing
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Even Formula 1 world champions make mistakes – although Fernando Alonso indicated that fluctuations in the headwind at a critical part of the lap at Suzuka could have tipped him into the spin that brought second practice for the Japanese Grand Prix to a halt.
Alonso lost control at the entry to the first Degner turn and spun across the gravel, where the car became beached, requiring the second red-flag period of the session while his AMR25 could be recovered.
There is no means of extracting cars from trackside here because of the topography of the circuit: a short but sharp drop lies beyond the tyre barrier on the outside, while on the inside a grass bank slopes up to the outside of 130R.
“I don’t know, I need to review it,” Alonso said in the media pen after FP2.
“I lost the car in a weird way, it’s very windy and very gusty out there, and the car is a little bit critical. But yeah, I don’t know if I put a tyre on the grass or something.”
That appears to be exactly what happened.
This section of the lap is more technically challenging than it looks since the cars must shed speed at the last of the ‘S’ corners, then build it up again through the constant-radius Nippon curve that follows. The first Degner is more open than the second, so the drivers look to carry as much speed through there as possible.
To do this, drivers naturally move to the left-hand extremities of the track to open out the right-hander. Analysis of the onboard footage clearly shows Alonso straying over the white line on the approach, with his left-front wheel on the grass as he passes the 50-metre board.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing crash
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
The left-front was fully on the grass when he began to steer right. This unsettled the car’s rear end, which Alonso tried to correct by jinking the wheel back to the left before steering right again.
But, by this point, the AMR25 was on a trajectory that caused it to miss the apex of the corner and, despite Alonso applying more right-hand steering lock, momentum carried the car onto the kerbs. From there, he was a passenger.
Whether there was a gust of wind at the critical moment only the telemetry is likely to show, but all the drivers complained about having a headwind through the ‘S’ curves during practice. On the run into the Degners, the wind would have been blowing from right to left, and slightly to the rear of the car.
Despite this setback, Alonso remained optimistic for the rest of the Japanese weekend.
“I think we’re slightly more competitive than in China,” he said. “So hopefully Q3 is possible tomorrow.”
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Stuart Codling
Formula 1
Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin Racing
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Alpine driver Jack Doohan has said he was “caught by surprise” by his heavy crash in Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix second practice, with team boss Oliver Oakes labelling it a “misjudgement”.
The rookie spun off entering the high-speed Turn 1 in the opening stages of the one-hour session, smashing heavily into the barriers. Due to the severity of the impact, Doohan was checked at the medical centre, but the Australian escaped injury.
Doohan’s crash was caused by him entering Turn 1 without manually closing his DRS mechanism, which meant he turned into the flat-out section with his rear wing still open. That aerodynamical imbalance caused his Alpine to spin as soon as he turned into the corner.
The DRS overtaking device is deactivated automatically as soon as a driver hits the brakes, which wasn’t the case in that particular corner.
“We are all relieved to see Jack walk away from his incident in free practice two and glad to see he is OK after his precautionary checks,” Oakes said.
“It was a misjudgement of not closing the DRS into Turn 1. It is something to learn from and I know Jack and the team will be ready for tomorrow. His crew will work hard to have the car prepared after the damage.”
Jack Doohan, Alpine
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Doohan said the incident caught him off guard. “It was a heavy one, something that caught me by surprise, and I will learn from it,” he stated.
“I know the team has a lot of work ahead to repair the car going into tomorrow, so thanks in advance to them for their efforts. My focus is on tomorrow where we will have free practice three to get ready for qualifying.”
Doohan had ceded his spot in FP1 to Alpine test driver Ryo Hirakawa, meaning the 22-year-old heads into Saturday with just four laps of Suzuka under his belt.
In the other car, Pierre Gasly tentatively appeared to confirm Alpine’s place in the pecking order in the middle of the pack, fighting with the likes of Williams and Aston Martin.
“From a performance point of view today, there are some things for us to work on,” Oakes explained.
“Pierre had a good run in free practice two, which bodes well for tomorrow, as did Ryo, who did a great job to run through the programme this morning. We tried some set-up options between cars and we have a good direction to go in ahead of qualifying.”
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Alpine
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Alpine team boss Oliver Oakes has explained Jack Doohan’s heavy crash in Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix practice was caused by the Australian erroneously leaving DRS open.
Doohan spun off the road entering the high-speed Turn 1 in the opening stages of the one-hour session, smashing heavily into the barriers. Due to the severity of the impact, Doohan was checked at the medical centre, but the Australian escaped injury.
Doohan’s crash was caused by him entering Turn 1 without manually closing his DRS mechanism, which meant he turned into the flat-out section with his rear wing still open. That aerodynamical imbalance caused his Alpine to spin as soon as he turned into the corner.
The DRS overtaking device is deactivated automatically as soon as a driver hits the brakes, which wasn’t the case in that particular corner.
“We are all relieved to see Jack walk away from his incident in free practice 2 and glad to see he is OK after his precautionary checks,” Oakes said.
“It was a misjudgement of not closing the DRS into Turn 1. It is something to learn from and I know Jack and the team will be ready for tomorrow. His crew will work hard to have the car prepared after the damage.”
Jack Doohan, Alpine
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Doohan said the incident caught him off guard. “It was a heavy one, something that caught me by surprise, and I will learn from it,” he stated.
“I know the team has a lot of work ahead to repair the car going into tomorrow, so thanks in advance to them for their efforts.
“My focus is on tomorrow where we will have free practice 3 to get ready for qualifying.”
Doohan had ceded his spot in FP1 to Alpine test driver Ryo Hirakawa, which means the rookie heads into Saturday with just four laps of Suzuka under his belt.
In the other car, Pierre Gasly tentatively appeared to confirm Alpine’s place in the pecking order in the middle of the pack, fighting with the likes of Williams and Aston Martin.
“From a performance point of view today, there are some things for us to work on,” Oakes explained.
“Pierre had a good run in free practice 2, which bodes well for tomorrow, as did Ryo, who did a great job to run through the programme this morning.
“We tried some set-up options between cars and we have a good direction to go in ahead of qualifying.”
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Filip Cleeren
Formula 1
Jack Doohan
Alpine
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The FIA is attempting to prevent a repeat of the grass fires that derailed second practice at Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Friday’s session was thrown into disarray by four red flags, two for offs by Jack Doohan and Fernando Alonso and another two for grass patches lining the Suzuka track catching fire.
The dry grass approaching Turn 8 first caught fire with 13 minutes left to run and was quickly extinguished by the Suzuka marshals.
In the dying seconds the grass was set ablaze again, this time much more dramatically and it curtailed the final push laps for many drivers.
The FIA is still investigating the cause of the incidents, but thus far the most plausible explanation is sparks coming off the cars’ titanium skid blocks.
The governing body has announced it is taking preventative measures to avoid a repeat on Saturday for final practice and qualifying, with certain patches being watered and the driest sections being removed altogether.
Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber
Photo by: Peter Fox – Getty Images
“While we continue to look into the fires that occurred during FP2, our focus before tomorrow will be on taking pre-emptive measures,” an FIA statement read.
“The grass has been cut as short as possible, and loose, dried grass has been removed from affected areas. Prior to tomorrow’s sessions, the grass will be dampened, and specific response teams will be stationed around the track.”
A similar incident occurred at last year’s Chinese Grand Prix, when the sole practice session in Shanghai was halted for two separate grass fires and the FIA took similar measures at the time.
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The FIA is attempting to prevent a repeat of the grass fires that derailed the second practice outing at Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Friday’s session was thrown into disarray by four red flags, two for offs by Jack Doohan and Fernando Alonso and another two for grass patches lining the Suzuka track catching fire.
The dry grass approaching Turn 8 first caught fire with 13 minutes left to run and was quickly extinguished by the Suzuka marshals.
In the dying seconds the grass was set ablaze again, this time much more dramatically and it curtailed the final push laps for many drivers.
The FIA is still investigating the cause of the incidents, but thus far the most plausible explanation is sparks coming off the cars’ titanium skid blocks.
Motor racing’s governing body has announced it is taking preventative measures to avoid a repeat on Saturday for final practice and qualifying, with certain patches being watered and the driest sections being removed altogether.
“While we continue to look into the fires that occurred during FP2, our focus before tomorrow will be on taking pre-emptive measures,” an FIA statement read.
“The grass has been cut as short as possible, and loose, dried grass has been removed from affected areas. Prior to tomorrow’s sessions, the grass will be dampened, and specific response teams will be stationed around the track.”
A similar incident occurred at last year’s Chinese Grand Prix, when the sole practice session in Shanghai was halted for two separate grass fires and the FIA took similar measures at the time.
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Liam Lawson said he has enjoyed his return to Racing Bulls at Suzuka despite his harsh demotion from Red Bull, feeling at ease in the team’s vastly different Formula 1 car.
After two difficult race weekends Lawson’s Red Bull stint was cut short by the team’s management, which opted to try his former Racing Bulls team-mate Yuki Tsunoda instead.
Having felt he needed more time to get used to Red Bull’s tricky to drive RB21, which he ultimately wasn’t afforded, Lawson got up to speed much quicker in the VCARB 02, taking fifth in an admittedly disjointed Suzuka FP2, less than half a tenth behind new team-mate Isack Hadjar.
“It felt good. It is definitely a different feeling to drive,” Lawson said about his first day in his new car. “I think the window that the guys have at the moment is very, very good. And the car has been fast so far this season, so hopefully we can replicate that tomorrow as well.
“It’s a very cool track. With the resurfacing sector one is even faster now, so it just feels like it’s tearing your head off, which is quite exciting.”
At Racing Bulls Lawson has found a warmer environment to regain his confidence, with team principal Laurent Mekies adamant that his priority was to help the 23-year-old New Zealander find his feet again.
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls, Laurent Mekies, Racing Bulls
Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Motorsport Images
“He knows he has an important role to play with us in the battle we have in the midfield,” Mekies said. “He knows he has a point to prove out there, so we are all very conscious that his talent is there and it’s about finding the right conditions to extract it back out of him.”
Lawson said he had received the right support from the Anglo-Italian team to make the transition as smooth as possible: “Yeah, it’s been nice. Everybody’s been very, very positive, even from last week.
“Laurent was straight on the phone and very, very positive and saying all the things I needed to hear, going to see everyone at the factory, and obviously yesterday coming to the paddock as well.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with this team, they’re a great bunch of people. It is nice to feel that welcome back again, so hopefully we can go and have some good races together.”
Photos from Japanese GP – Practice
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