Max Verstappen led a Red Bull Racing 1-2 during the opening practice session for Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, as Williams’ Logan Sargeant crashed.
Japan’s event has moved up the calendar, from its traditional autumn slot, to a spring berth, with conditions at Suzuka cool and overcast on Friday.
Verstappen posted a time of 1:30.056s to finish 0.181s clear of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, with all of the front-runners clocking their best efforts on Pirelli’s Soft tyres.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was the closest non-Red Bull driver in third spot, 0.213s behind Verstappen, with Mercedes pair George Russell and Lewis Hamilton fourth and fifth respectively, four-tenths down on the reigning World Champion.
Sainz’s Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc was sixth.
The biggest incident during the one-hour session befell Williams driver Sargeant.
Sargeant ran wide through the fast right-hander at Dunlop and hit the barriers, causing damage to the left-rear and front end of the Williams FW46.
Sargeant was able to extricate himself from the car but Williams faces a rush to ready the car for the second practice session.
It is a further blow to a team which is still competing without a third chassis and which does not expect to have the back-up car ready until the sixth round of the campaign in Miami.
The session was red-flagged for 10 minutes while Sargeant’s stricken car was removed.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was seventh, ahead of McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who were split by the RB of home representative Yuki Tsunoda.
Japan had two drivers running in the session as Honda protégé and ex-Formula 2 driver Ayumu Iwasa – now competing in Super Formula – made his free practice debut for RB, in place of Daniel Ricciardo.
Iwasa, who tested for RB’s previous iteration AlphaTauri in Abu Dhabi last year, finished in 16th position, as the team fulfilled one of its two rookie sessions for the season.
