Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes 1-2 during the opening practice session for Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
Hamilton posted a time of 1:28.691 on Soft tyres to finish almost half a second clear of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in warm and muggy conditions.
Bottas, who led the running early on, wound up 0.446s down on Hamilton, though used the Medium tyres to complete his quickest lap.
Hamilton’s session was not without drama as he had to take avoiding action against a slow Pierre Gasly at the chicane in an incident that will be investigated by stewards post-session.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo emerged as the quickest non-Mercedes driver, 0.682s in arrears, as he ran the Supersoft compound, a direction also taken by both Ferrari drivers.
Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel finished fourth and fifth, nine-tenths off Hamilton, though the latter was baulked through the final sector on his hot lap, having been just two-tenths down through the second split.
Max Verstappen finished sixth for Red Bull, while Force India’s Esteban Ocon was the swiftest midfielder, seven-tenths off his former F3 rival, as he used the Soft tyres.
Romain Grosjean placed eighth for Haas while Sauber pair Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson rounded out the top 10.
Gasly recovered from an unusual off through the exit of Turn 2 to place 11th, in front of lead Renault driver Carlos Sainz Jr.
Renault and McLaren both broke the curfew overnight due to their Castrol oil supply arriving late, having been delayed through customs due to a recent typhoon.
Force India’s Sergio Perez had a spin at the chicane en route to 13th overall, ahead of Haas driver Kevin Magnussen – celebrating his 26th birthday – and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Lance Stroll placed 16th for Williams, with Brendon Hartley 17th, as McLaren pair Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris sandwiched Sergey Sirotkin at the back.
Alonso had the wildest moment of a relatively sedate session as he slid through the gravel at Degner 1 after dipping a wheel onto the grass at the entry of the high-speed kink.
Alonso was able to extricate his McLaren MCL33 from the gravel trap and returned to the pit lane, eventually winding up 18th.
Reserve driver and 2019 racer Norris had another FP1 outing, this time in place of the axed Stoffel Vandoorne, and finished six-tenths behind Alonso.
Friday’s second 90-minute practice session will begin at 14:00 local time
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