Japanese GP FP1: Fernando Alonso Fastest in the rain-affected practice session

After two editions of the Japanese Grand Prix were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, Formula 1 is returning to the iconic Suzuka circuit. Friday’s first practice session didn’t see much running, as the persistent rain throughout the day caused a lot of standing water on the track. The rain halted to a drizzle, but the track conditions still were not ideal for any running.

A few cars left the pitlane 5 minutes after practice had started, but no one put any time on the board. As conditions improved for intermediate tires, cars began to complete the lap of the circuit, but overall, much running was not done in the first session.

Fernando Alonso clocked the overall fastest time for the first session with 1:42.248. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc posted the second and third-quickest session times. Mercedes didn’t have much pace to show, with Lewis Hamilton posting a time of 1:44.558, which was only good enough for P13, while George Russell was only P18 after spending much of the session in the garage. Russell’s engine was swapped out of the car as the engine, which was to run in practice, sprung a leak.

Max Verstappen, who had the least lap counts of 4, matching George Russell, posted the sixth fastest time. He is entering this race weekend with another hope to clinch the driver’s world title for the second time. Fifteen minutes before the session, the rain started to get heavier again, and drivers deemed the condition unsuitable to continue running. Some drivers then decided to do practice starts as the weather is forecasted to remain like this throughout the weekend.

In the final minutes of the session, Mick Schumacher crashed into the wall while returning to the pits. He lost control, and his car did a 360, smashing into the barriers.

Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner expressed his frustrations afterwards as the pit crew was left with a tall order to repair Schumacher’s car before the second practice session.

FP1 Classification