If you didn’t manage to force your eyes to open at 2:30 AM and 6 AM this morning, then don’t worry, I’ve got everything you might have missed from the Formula One practice sessions here.
It was a battle between Mercedes and McLaren this morning in the sessions, with the four drivers from these teams claiming the top four positions in FP1 and FP2.
Sunny skies were overhead this morning and will probably stay for the remainder of this weekend so the times from today especially FP2 are a good indicator of what we could be expecting for qualifying tomorrow.
Despite it only being practice, there was quite a bit of action on the track today, with a lot of drivers having their fair share of wobbly moments. Max Verstappen in FP1 had to fight his RB22 going into the chicane; multiple drivers were running wide around Spoon Curve, and in FP2, last year’s world champion, Lando Norris, also struggled with a major lock-up.
Despite all that, it was the amount of impeding that really caused issues for many. Throughout his time in Formula One, Liam Lawson has found himself in a few tricky situations on track with other drivers, and today he found himself in another one with Carlos Sainz’s Williams. It was Sainz who caused the traffic jam, as the Spaniard was seen moving fairly slowly when Lawson came up behind him. We know that the Suzuka track is one of the most technical on the calendar, and the limited breathing room means that every year we see the same traffic jam issues.
Embed from Getty ImagesFranco Colapinto ended his day today with a trip to the stewards after his impeding of Verstappen in FP2 was too serious to ignore. On the straight between 14 and 15, Colapinto was warming his tyres by weaving without seeming to notice the fast approaching Verstappen behind him. There was no contact between the two cars, but it did result in Verstappen having to abort his lap. Due to this only being a practice session, it was just a warning for Colapinto, but if something similar were to happen in qualifying, then it could result in a more serious penalty.
There was more carnage at the end of FP1 as well, which did result in contact between Alex Albon and Sergio Perez. The chicane at the end of the lap was once again causing issues, but this time it was due to an attempted overtake by Albon where Perez failed to see him, resulting in the Cadillac driver turning into the Williams.
That just about wraps up all the main talking points from the first two free practice sessions. FP3 will be on at 2:30 AM tomorrow, and qualifying will be at 6 AM. Make sure to come back over here shortly after qualifying, as I will once again be wrapping up all the on-track action.