PIASTRI LEADS FP2 AT SUZUKA AS NORRIS STRUGGLES
The first day of action at the Japanese Grand Prix has come to an end, with Oscar Piastri putting McLaren at the top of the timesheets. It was a mixed day for the team, as Lando Norris struggled with technical problems in both sessions.
After a first practice session that already showed strong pace from Mercedes, Formula 1 returned to the track at Suzuka Circuit for FP2. At the start of the session, most drivers went out immediately, except Norris, who remained in the garage while mechanics worked on his car. The reigning world champion had already lost time in FP1, and the team later confirmed a hydraulic issue on his car.
While Norris faced problems, Piastri had a smooth session. After about ten minutes, he set the fastest time on medium tires.
During the early part of the session, teams focused on qualifying simulations using medium tires. Charles Leclerc briefly went fastest for Ferrari, ahead of the two Mercedes drivers, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
Norris eventually returned to the track on medium tires, just as teams began using soft tires for faster laps. However, his session was again interrupted, as he had to return to the pits after an installation lap due to more issues. There were also problems for Arvid Lindblad, who stopped early because of a gearbox issue on his RB car.
On soft tires, Piastri once again set the fastest time, finishing ahead of Antonelli and Russell. This highlighted a split picture at McLaren, with one car leading and the other struggling with reliability.
Ferrari, on the other hand, did not look fully comfortable. Both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton struggled with the car’s handling and were not able to match the pace of McLaren and Mercedes in qualifying simulations. Leclerc was about seven tenths off the fastest time, while Hamilton was around eight tenths behind. Norris, once his issues were partly resolved, managed to go faster than both Ferrari drivers.
In the final part of the session, Ferrari switched focus to race pace simulations, trying to understand how to improve ahead of Saturday. Hamilton summed up the situation over the radio, saying he felt slow because he lacked confidence in the car.
At the end of the day, Piastri remained fastest with a lap time of 1:30.133. Behind him were the two Mercedes cars, with Antonelli and Russell just a few tenths away. While Mercedes did not take the fastest lap, their race pace looked very strong compared to the competition.
Norris finished fourth, about half a second behind his teammate, after a difficult day with technical problems. Ferrari ended in fifth and sixth place, showing slightly better race pace but still lacking performance over one lap.
Behind the top teams, Nico Hülkenberg was the best of the rest, followed by Alexander Albon for Williams and Oliver Bearman for Haas F1 Team. Max Verstappen had a quiet session and finished in the top ten, but over one second behind the leader.
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