After Australia we return to the early wake-up call, Formula 1 has landed in Asia with a double Japan-China event which will give us further evidence of the values on the track. We come from an atypical weekend. In Australia it wasn't Red Bull that dominated but rather Ferrari who maximized the result by seizing the opportunities given by the problems that stopped Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. In Suzuka the situation should change again in favor of the Austrians. The Japanese circuit is an important testing ground for drivers and single-seaters like few others on the calendar. Each of them will try to become familiar with the fast circuit to understand their strengths and weaknesses in the three free practice sessions. Let's see what Free Practice 1 at Suzuka tells us.
In this first session the first novelty is represented by the presence of another Japanese on the track. At home Visa Cash App for Free Practice 1 at Suzuka Daniel Ricciardo will leave his seat to the young Iwasa. He is the first to take to the track covered by a cloudy sky. In fact, one constant of the weekend will be the unpredictability of the weather.
Home Red Bull, updates but no radical changes
From the first images of the pits it is also possible to observe the modifications made by the team of the world champion, Max Verstappen, i.e the Red Bull, that she arrived in Japan with the desire to redeem herself from the setback in Australia. In particular, the team modified the air intake system on both sides of the cockpit for cooling the RB20. The Power Unit for the two Red Bull drivers is also new.
La Red Bull However, it is not the only team to have brought some innovations, albeit not substantial ones. Among them is Aston Martin, which brought the first updates of the season in Suzuka to get closer to McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and the podium area which last year he achieved several times with Fernando Alonso. Japan is an important test, especially since it is at the beginning of the season. Aston Martin performed better in qualifying than in the race where it lost almost half a second to Ferrari and Red Bull. At Suzuka, Lawrence Stroll's team therefore brought a package of innovations to the AMR24 with a new fund for efficiency and to control the load.
New fund also for the RB Visa Cash App, or the Racing Bulls, which started the season a little quietly compared to expectations at the beginning of the year.
Ferrari has also brought some innovations to the rear, such as a new cover of the rear arm of the upper suspension triangle to direct the flows in a different way. For the Maranello team, Suzuka is an important test bed. Last year the SF-23's weaknesses emerged even more here, but this year there is a fair amount of optimism. We'll see if the track returns the same optimism.
After the first half hour the activity on the track stops. Everyone is using this first session of the day to evaluate the innovations introduced. The situation with 30 minutes to go is as follows. Max Verstappen is in command on hard tires with a time of 1:31.463. Three tenths behind the Dutchman we find Lando Norris and Alonso on the medium tyre, Perez on the hard tire and Russell on the medium. Sixth and seventh place for the two Ferraris with Leclerc ahead of Sainz.
Hamilton, Norris, Hulkenberg and Sargeant are the first drivers to go out on soft tyres. And Hamilton is the first to set a time among these. Taking the lead in the standings.
The red flag, and Williams forced into a new job
The first drivers' attempt in the qualifying simulation was interrupted by a new accident at Williams. This time he ended up off the track, hitting the car Logan sargeant which "inherited" the chassis that Alexander Albon had damaged in Melbourne, with the forced choice of having only one of the two drivers race due to a lack of reserve chassis. The team also arrived at Suzuka without spare chassis. This accident therefore once again complicates the scenario at Williams and forces the mechanics above all to do a lot of work.
Sargeant, who also ended up off the track last year, went wide in turn 7, the exit of the S-curves at the end of the first sector, and once on the grass he lost control and ended up against the barrier. Hitting first with the front and then, hard with the back.
After a 10 minute interruption to remove Sargeant's car the session can resume. At this point, almost everyone takes to the track on soft tyres. The two Stakes, Ocon and Stroll, remain on medium tyres.
The first and only lap attempt launched for the others apart from Hamilton with the soft tires the top 5 always sees Max Verstappen at the top followed this time by his teammate, Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz. Further back Charles Leclerc, sixth behind the two Mercedes. Ferrari needs now more than ever to put together the perfect weekend in order to reduce the gap with Red Bull who wants to reiterate their superiority with the third double of the season. Alonso, Piastri, Tsunoda and Norris also enter the top 10.
Little data on the long runs that arrive in the final minutes with Verstappen and Leclerc on hard tires separated by 7 tenths in attack time. And a Hamilton in difficulty on the softs after a few laps, unlike Sainz with a particularly good pace on the softs. We will have the opportunity to observe them better later, in Free Practice 2 which will start at 8:00.
