Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka International Racing Course on September 22, 2023 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
SUZUKA, Japan – With the Singapore Grand Prix’s bright lights and action that saw Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen’s victory streak come to a halt with the masterful performance from Ferrari and Carlos Sainz taking the victory, the Formula 1 world comes to the Suzuka International Racing Course for the Japanese Grand Prix. The focus now shifts towards whether Red Bull will return to form or if the rest of the grid has caught up.
In the lead-up to the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, McLaren announced they had signed an extension to rookie standout Oscar Piastri, which will keep him on the team until at least 2026. The teaming of Lando Norris and Piastri have become a pair to look out for during a race weekend as McLaren rebounds and works their way to get back to the top spot on the podium.
After having sat out the Singapore Grand Prix following his wreck during qualifying, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll returned behind the wheel at Suzuka, which is excellent news for the driver and the team. Meanwhile, AlphaTauri has admitted that they are still ways out from a return of Daniel Ricciardo following his injury at Zandvoort during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, which gives the rookie Liam Lawson more of a chance to impress and potentially solidify a seat for the 2024 season.
Finally, it was time to start track activity for the weekend with the first of two practice sessions on Friday. Teams for this weekend have an extra set of tires as Pirelli will be having teams test a prototype version of the C2 tire ahead of next season. The pit lane lights turned green and crews could finally send their drivers out on track to gather their first laps of track time and valuable information for the weekend.
Following a disappointing weekend for them, Red Bull and Verstappen stormed to the top of the timing sheets, almost immediately seeing him over half a second over his closest challenger. The winner from last week, Sainz, continued to show form as he picked up the second fastest time of the session, albeit showing there was still more work to be done. McLaren, still showing their turnaround from the start of the year, saw Norris take the third fastest time, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc picked up the fourth quickest time, even after a slight detour into the gravel at the hairpin. Home country driver Yuki Tsunoda for AlphaTauri shined as he picked up the fifth fastest time of the session.
With the session complete, teams now had time to look over the data gathered and started preparations for the day’s second practice.
Carlos Sainz (55) in his Ferrari takes laps during Practice at the Suzuka International Racing Course for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix (Photo: Scuderia Ferrari)
While the first practice finished without incidents, the second practice wasn’t as lucky. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly happened to run wide in Turn 9 and went into the gravel, then went slowly sliding into the barriers, ending his day early. However, that was the most notable incident that saw teams continue to go out and gather more information ahead of Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Once again, Verstappen stormed to the top of the timing sheets in his Red Bull, hoping to thoroughly brush aside all that happened at the Singapore Grand Prix. Following behind came the Ferrari of Leclerc, who had swapped timing sheet positions with his teammate Sainz from the previous session, with Norris again taking the third fastest time. Meanwhile, the Mercedes of George Russell brought home the fifth fastest time of the session.
With the Friday track activity completed, drivers and teams now focus on Saturday, where one final practice will be ahead of qualifying to set the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix. It remains to be seen if Red Bull has returned to form or if Ferrari can continue their streak of showing speed and competitiveness dating back to the Italian Grand Prix.
