Japanese GP FP2: Russell Leads a Mercedes 1-2 in another wet practice session

George Russell led a Mercedes 1-2 in another wet second practice session in Suzuka on Friday. Lewis Hamilton was 0.235s behind in the sister Mercedes. The Mercedes had shown a robust pace in the second practice session and would like to carry the momentum in tomorrow’s qualifying. The team hasn’t won a race so far in the 2022 season and would be looking to build up on today’s result. Max Verstappen was third fastest for Red Bull but was 0.616s behind Hamilton’s fastest time.

The second practice session at Suzuka was extended to 90 minutes by the FIA as Pirelli provided teams with samples of 2023 tyres for testing. However, like the first practice session, the second session was marred by constant rain, meaning the test had to be scrapped by the teams. The conditions improved in the middle of the session, and teams shifted from full wets to intermediate tyres. That’s when Russell and Hamilton started to post faster times. Ferrari was unable to build on their first practice session’s pace. 

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished P6 and P11, respectively. Leclerc especially had a challenging session, hitting the gravel trap during one of his runs, as he reported problems with his car’s brakes. FP1’s lead time setter Fernando Alonso finished P7. In the battle for the fourth-best position in the constructor’s table with Mclaren, Alpine had the upper hand on Friday. 

Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo were almost 2.5 seconds slower than Alpines. Whether they were sticking to their practice checklists or just struggling to post faster lap times in these conditions, will be confirmed at Saturday’s Qualifying.

Mick Schumacher had to sit out the second practice session as his car wasn’t ready to be sent out. Compared to Schumacher, his teammate Kevin Magnussen had a very productive afternoon as he finished P5 in the session.

FP2 Classification