SUZUKA, Japan: Red Bull’s runaway Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen roared back from defeat in Singapore to set the fastest lap in the first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday (Sep 22).
The Dutch 25-year-old laid down an immediate marker as the first driver on the track, going more than a second faster than the rest on the hard tyres, and he stayed on top throughout in the hour-long session at Suzuka.
Verstappen’s record run of 10 wins in a row, and Red Bull’s 15 successive victories, came to an end last Sunday when he finished only fifth under the floodlights at Marina Bay and Mexican teammate Sergio Perez was eighth.
Verstappen’s best time of one minute 31.647 seconds was 0.626 quicker than Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, the winner in Singapore.
“It’s still early days but certainly Max laid down a statement of intent with his first flying lap of the weekend, which was truly impressive,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told reporters.
“Max back to the front again, so it was fun while it lasted,” joked McLaren boss Zak Brown on Sky Sports television.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was third fastest, 0.745 off the pace with a late switch to the soft tyres, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fourth and 0.927 slower than Verstappen but trying out a new floor.
Perez, 151 points behind Verstappen after 15 of 22 races, was only 11th and 1.396 seconds slower than his teammate.
Red Bull are set to retain their constructors’ title in Japan on Sunday, needing to score only a point more than Mercedes.
Mercedes had George Russell 13th fastest and seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton 16th but, unlike those above them on the timesheets, they did not use the quicker soft tyres in the session.
“We’re glad it’s not a sprint race because we’ve got a bit of work to do,” said Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.
“We just haven’t landed with a great balance here … fundamentally, a bit of work to do on the setup.”
Japan’s only driver Yuki Tsunoda was fifth for AlphaTauri ahead of his home race with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso sixth and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri seventh with an upgraded car.
Williams’ Alex Albon, AlphaTauri’s stand-in Liam Lawson – replacing the injured Daniel Ricciardo for a fourth race – and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll completed the top 10 in an uneventful practice.
Drivers also tested Pirelli tyres for the 2024 season during the session.
