Australian Oscar Piastri, from McLaren, was the fastest in the second free practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, held this Friday at the Suzuka circuit. The 24-year-old driver set a time of one minute and 30s on the 5.8 km track.
He finished ahead of the Mercedes duo, formed by the Italian Kimi Antonelli, who was just 0.092 behind the championship leader, George Russell, in third place, at 0.205.
Mercedes had already shown strength in the first practice, with Russell leading and Antonelli close behind. The two drivers are separated by just four points in the championship, having achieved one victory each. Russell also won the race
The German team has been dominating the classifications so far, securing the front row in all stages and completing one-two finishes in Sunday’s races. If they maintain their performance, they could win their third consecutive double at the opening of the season, something that hasn’t happened since 2019.
Piastri’s strong performance marks a recovery for McLaren after a difficult weekend in China when both cars failed to start. His teammate, current world champion Lando Norris, was third fastest in the first practice session and fourth in the second.
Despite the evolution, McLaren still faces concerns about reliability, as Norris spent a good part of the sessions in the pits making adjustments to the car.
At Ferrari, Charles Leclerc and , maintaining regularity as Mercedes’ main pursuers.
The four-time world champion, from Red Bull, had a more discreet performance, placing seventh in the first training session and just tenth in the second.
Among other highlights, Nico Hulkenberg placed Audi in seventh in the second practice, followed by Alex Albon (Williams) and Oliver Bearman (Haas).
Veteran Fernando Alonso only finished in 19th place. The Spaniard arrived late in Japan after attending the birth of his first child and gave up his car in the first training session to Aston Martin’s third driver.
The session passed without major incidents. Albon escaped into the gravel on the Degner curves and got involved in a collision with Mexican Sergio Perez in the first practice session. In the second session, he faced problems with the accelerator and had to stop momentarily on the track.
Other drivers also had difficulties: Gabriel Bortoleto and Perez entered the track late due to car adjustments, while rookie Arvid Lindblad completed just one lap.
