Oscar Piastri completed day 1 of the Formula 1 Japanese GP at the front. In the second free practice session held this Friday (27), the McLaren driver set a time of 1min30s133 to take first place in the standings.
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The papaya team has shown it has taken a step forward this weekend at Suzuka. Kimi Antonelli finished in second place in the session 0s092 behind the leader, with George Russell, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc completing the top five positions.
In the top-5 of FP2, McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari were present, with Nico Hülkenberg, seventh, positioning himself as the ‘best of the rest’.
The drivers now return to the track later this Friday, 27, here in Brazil, with free practice 3 at 23h30 Brasília time.
See how the second free practice session of the Formula 1 Japanese GP went:
For this second session of the weekend, the temperature remained quite low. The thermometer showed 17ºC and the asphalt was around 33ºC, while humidity reached 46%, conditions similar to FP1.
Stopwatch started at Suzuka and second free practice began on the Japanese track. Obviously, the drivers didn’t take long to leave the pits and Lewis Hamilton, Franco Colapinto and Valtteri Bottas were some of the names who quickly headed to the circuit.
After four minutes, the Ferrari Brit was in first place, but surprisingly was overtaken by Liam Lawson, who jumped to the top. Shortly after, it was Nico Hülkenberg’s turn to take the lead with 1min32s933 on hard tires.
Almost ten minutes into the session in Japan and Oscar Piastri was in first place with 1min31s495. George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Hamilton and Lawson completed the top five positions; Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto still had no time.
As the session progressed, Charles Leclerc was now in first place with 1min31s0s19, 0s048 ahead of the McLaren Australian and Antonelli in third. The trio was on medium tires, with Hülkenberg the best placed on hard tires in seventh.
Twenty minutes had already passed on the clock and Arvid Lindblad, Bortoleto, Lando Norris and Sergio Pérez were the four drivers who still had no time – the latter two, in fact, hadn’t even completed a full lap.
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Meanwhile, a positive point for Aston Martin. Both drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, are running on track, even though they are in the last two positions among competitors who set a lap time.
With almost all drivers in the field on soft tires, the order was Piastri in first with 1min30s133, followed by Antonelli, Leclerc, Russell and Hamilton completing the top five positions, with McLaren showing itself as the ‘outsider’ at the front of the field.
More than half of the session had already been completed in Japan at Suzuka and Piastri remained in first place. Things were quite spread out on the circuit, with only the top four in the standings within the same second, with Hamilton already 1s007 behind the Australian.
In the top six positions are the pairs from McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari, with Hülkenberg being the ‘best of the rest’. With less than 20 minutes remaining, Bortoleto would then head out to the track after great work by his mechanics and engineers on his engine.
In the final stretch of the session, Gabriel managed to leave the pits for his first laps. While the rest of his rivals were already in their race simulations, the Brazilian was on soft tires to get his first timed lap.
With 26 laps completed, Lawson was the driver who had run the most in this FP2 of Formula 1 at Suzuka. Meanwhile, his teammate Lindblad completed only one lap and was the one who ran the least.
Session ended and Piastri was the fastest of the day in Japan. Antonelli, Russell, Norris and Leclerc completed the top five positions in the standings. With issues, Bortoleto still managed to place himself in 16th using soft tires.
The final moments also gave Isack Hadjar something to complain about on the radio. As he was passing down the straight, a car leaving the pits cut in front of him abruptly, with the Red Bull Frenchman complaining about the move.
Formula 1 2026, Japanese GP, free practice 2, results:
1) Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’30.133
2) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 1’30.225
3) George Russell (Mercedes), 1’30.338
4) Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’30.649
5) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 1’30.846
6) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 1’30.980
7) Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), 1’31.441
8) Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes), 1’31.496
9) Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari), 1’31.498
10) Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’31.509
11) Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari), 1’31.532
12) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’31.590
13) Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes), 1’31.608
14) Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’31.734
15) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’31.759
16) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), 1’31.933
17) Franco Colapinto (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’32.438
18) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’32.615
19) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’33.596
20) Sergio Pérez (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’33.689
21) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’33.951
22) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), no time
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