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Japanese GP
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2023 Formula 1 Japanese GP
Sep 21, 2023 to Sep 24, 2023
| Suzuka, JP
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Formula 1 Japanese GP
F1 Japanese GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2
Friday's action from the 16th round of the 2023 Formula 1 season
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01:06:18 am
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All 20 drivers are now on the track - or they were, until Stroll returned to the pits.
Stopwatch
01:05:53 am
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Highlighting the tumbling times, Bottas goes 0.3s faster, with a 1:33.163s.
Stopwatch
01:05:15 am
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Here come the first times as Sainz and then Albon set the early pace. Albon's 1:33.482s is over a second off the pace of FP1 as he laps on the testy tyre.
01:04:08 am
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As was the case in FP1, there are not only the regular three dry compounds being run, but there is also a Pirelli test tyre. This is a revised medium option that will not be available for the remainder of the weekend.
01:02:14 am
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18 of the 20 drivers have immediately headed onto the circuit with Verstappen and Perez the only two remaining in the garage.
Lights green
01:01:10 am
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FP2 is GO!
01:00:53 am
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Slightly explaining Perez's 1.4s deficit to Verstappen in FP1, the former was running the old floor while the points leader had the new iteration that was tried and not run in the Singapore GP.
12:57:27 am
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The chance of rain in the coming hour is officially 10%. There was a mild sprinkling during FP1, but this was nowhere near enough to require the use of intermediate tyres.
12:56:42 am
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The music has played - and woken a few of us up - and we're now ready for FP2, which gets under way in three minutes.
Breaking news
12:54:26 am
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In driver news, Alpine interim team principal Bruno Famin confirmed between sessions that Mick Schumacher is in talks to join the manufacturer's LMDh squad in the World Endurance Championship
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/alpine-ready-to-test-schumacher-for-wec-drive/10523460/
12:52:05 am
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Hamilton and Russell also failed to hit the top 10, but neither ran the soft tyre, making it difficult to get a true read on Mercedes' pace.
12:51:24 am
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If you're just waking up, normal service was resumed by Verstappen in FP1 with the championship leader on top by over six-tenths from Sainz. Norris was third but Perez missed out on the top 10.
12:49:40 am
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Good morning once more and welcome to second practice for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix!
10:50:58 pm
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We'll take a breather now to go and grab some coffee, but never fear we'll be back for FP2 which starts at 7am BST.
Breaking news
10:46:46 pm
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Here's the full report on FP1:
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-japanese-gp-verstappen-dominant-in-fp1-as-red-bull-hunt-constructors-crown/10523417/
Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Photo by: Jake Grant / Motorsport Images
10:45:58 pm
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So, normal service resumed? Verstappen's lap times from FP1 indicate that but it is, of course, very early days at Suzuka. But I'm sure there are big sighs of relief in the Red Bull garage.
10:41:04 pm
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10:38:44 pm
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Leclerc blots his FP1 copybook by locking up on his lap back to the pits and skates over the gravel at the Turn 11 hairpin.
10:34:36 pm
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So, Verstappen tops FP1 by a healthy six-tenths from Singapore winner Sainz with Norris slotting into third late on. Perez dropped down to 11th by the end of the session, while both Mercs are outside the top 10 having not touched the softs.
10:32:47 pm
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Tsunoda and Sargeant get in each other's way through the final sector so both mess up their final laps in the session. The Japanese driver calls it "unnecessary" and we very much agree. It is far too early for that kind of shenanigans.
Checkered flag
10:30:53 pm
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Piastri goes seventh fastest and Norris goes third quickest on the aforementioned softs to shake-up the order as the chequered flag comes out.
10:29:18 pm
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McLaren laugh in the face of the spots of rain as they leave it until the final two minutes of FP1 to try out the softs.
10:28:21 pm
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Perez gets it wrong going into the chicane and cuts the corner, throwing up the loose astro and coverings over the run-off.
10:27:02 pm
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Spots of rain are dropping in one of Suzuka's ponds. It is just spots for now but that may curtail any full-fat running to minimise the risk at the end of the session.
10:25:26 pm
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F1's AWS displays the track dominance match-up between Tsunoda and Alonso, for some unknown reason. Perhaps because the track dominance of the entire field will just read "Verstappen: everywhere".
10:23:59 pm
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Hamilton has revealed a very striking neon helmet he will run at the Japanese GP, but so far he is using his familiar bright yellow lid to match his yellow-walled medium tyres. Still no sign of the softs down at Mercedes.
Stopwatch
10:20:35 pm
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Tsunoda, on softs, goes fourth fastest with a 1m32.597s. Most are now focusing on long runs to finish up the final 10 minutes of first practice.
Stopwatch
10:19:00 pm
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Saying that, Norris has just gone fifth with a 1m32.880s set on the test tyres which is hugely out of sync with the rest of the pack.
10:17:56 pm
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Both Mercedes and McLaren have not tried out the soft tyres yet which explains their respective slide down the order. Meanwhile, Lawson pops into sixth just behind Albon.
10:15:14 pm
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Albon puts in an eye-catching effort for Williams to go fifth fastest, which is pretty impressive given the cars around him on the timesheet.
10:13:04 pm
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Alonso goes third quickest, dividing the Ferraris, but is still over a second off Verstappen's leading effort. I don't think anybody is matching that in this session.
Rain
10:11:51 pm
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Lawson reports "very light rain on my visor" - there was a forecasted 10% chance of the wet stuff for this session - so let's hope that it stays away for the final 18 minutes of FP1.
10:10:41 pm
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Zhou has been off at Spoon curve but takes to the plentiful run-off. It appears the track might not be quite as grippy as expected from simulations.
10:09:07 pm
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Piastri avoids a nasty moment at Degner 1, as he clips the inside kerb that sends him into a massive slide which he catches and backs out of the lap.
Stopwatch
10:07:52 pm
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Sainz goes second quickest with a 1m32.273s but that is 0.626s off Verstappen. Leclerc slots into third, four-tenths off his team-mate.
10:06:36 pm
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Ferrari has also moved onto the softs, so let's see what their one-lap pace is like. Sainz has taken back-to-back poles at the last two rounds, remember.
Stopwatch
10:05:00 pm
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Verstappen puts in a "and this is for Singapore" lap of 1m31.647s to go 1.396s quicker than Perez at the top of the times. That's a huge margin.
Stopwatch
10:03:00 pm
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Perez, also on softs, puts in a 1m33.043s but cannot get closer than 0.601s off his team-mate's earlier time set on the test tyres.
10:01:25 pm
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The majority of the field has completed its test tyre running and is focusing on the familiar medium and soft tyres. Verstappen has just emerged from the pits with the softest compound.
09:59:21 pm
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Hamilton, exiting the pits, gets a bit blocked by home hero Tsunoda which he raised his hand to from his cockpit. No bother, as the Merc then goes third quickest with a 1m33.699s.
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By: Autosport Staff
Published: Sep 22, 2023, 6:06 AM
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