Norris fastest in opening Japanese GP practice as Tsunoda goes sixth

Lando Norris started the Japanese Grand Prix weekend with the fastest time in a tight contest with George Russell for top spot in the first free practice session.

Home favorite Yuki Tsunoda also impressed in his first outing with Red Bull Racing with a lap only 0.1 seconds slower than new teammate Max Verstappen.

Norris needed three attempts to complete his flying lap after wasting his first two soft-shod times with mistakes at the final chicane.

He first suffered a big snap of oversteer on exit, and on his second attempt a big bite of the curb sent him sliding off the road and into the gravel. A gusty breeze, whipping through the chicane and down the front straight, was likely at least partly to blame.

He made no such error on his final attempt. Purple in the first two sectors, he was notably more restrained in the chicane to set the fastest time at 1m 28.549s, besting Russell’s best effort by 0.163s.

The Briton sounded a note of caution, however, when he radioed complaining of front-tire graining after only a pair of laps on the medium tire, while Russell appeared not to suffer the same issue.

Ferrari followed in the order, with Charles Leclerc 0.416s off the pace ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who 0.086s further back.

Leclerc complained of struggling with the tailwind into the first turn, though his team suggested it wasn’t hampering his time.

Verstappen – who unusually reported that his car was “flexing a lot” early in the session – was 0.516s off the pace in the lead Red Bull Racing car, with new teammate Tsunoda just 0.107s further back.

It was a strong first session for Tsunoda, who was quicker than Verstappen through the hairpin but also down the straights with some well-judged exits during the wind-affected hour.

Fernando Alonso was seventh for Aston Martin ahead of Isack Hadjar and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the Mercedes teenager retaining the fastest time in the final split, more than 0.2s quicker than Norris’s best attempt.

The Italian ended his session with a lock-up into the hairpin during his medium-tire run, though he was able to continue back to pit lane unhindered.

Carlos Sainz completed the top 10 for Williams in a session notable for the Spaniard forgetting his team’s position in pit lane, forcing him to complete another lap before returning to his garage.

His teammate, Alex Albon, was 11th after a lock-up that sent him into the stones at the hairpin. He was able to rejoin without damage.

Alpine reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa, the winner for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2022, was 12th in his stand-in appearance commandeering Jack Doohan’s car. He was 0.845s off the pace and faster than teammate Pierre Gasly, who was two places and 0.153s further back.

The Alpine duo sandwiched Liam Lawson, back at Racing Bulls, and were ahead of 15th-placed Oscar Piastri, who didn’t get a flying lap in, leaving him in an unrepresentative low position.

Lance Stroll was 16th ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Bortoleto at the bottom of the order.