Liam Lawson was kept busy in opening practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, completing the most laps of any competitor for the ninth quickest time. The Kiwi’s 1:33.005 was 1.358 seconds off the pace of the best lap set by session leader Max Verstappen and four-tenths behind that of teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
Lawson completed 28 laps of the Suzuka circuit, with a portion of those on a prototype medium compound.
Five days after Verstappen and Red Bull were humbled in Singapore, the defending World Champion returned to the top of the timesheet in style, his 1:31.647 bettering last weekend’s winner Carlos Sainz by 0.626 seconds.
Lando Norris rounded out the top three, a further one-tenth behind Sainz.
Charles Leclerc made it two Ferraris in the top four, setting a lap three-tenths behind that of his teammates, while Tsunoda set a flying 1:32.597 late in the session to go fifth fastest in front of a patriotic home crowd.
Fernando Alonso, Oscar Piastri and Alex Albon rounded out the top seven, with the latter’s best lap only 0.014 seconds faster than Lawson’s.
Lance Stroll, who missed the Singapore Grand Prix following a hard qualifying crash, rounded out the top ten.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was eleventh, ahead of Pierre Gasly, George Russell, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton, with both Mercedes drivers opting not to run on the soft tyre.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, Haas’s Kevin Magnussen, Williams’ Logan Sargeant and Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu rounded out the time sheets, as several teams opted to use the session as a data-gathering opportunity.
Free Practice 2 for the Japanese Grand Prix begins at 5.45 pm.
Header Image: Getty Images/ Red Bull Content Pool
