Practice report

Japanese GP: Bottas leads Mercedes 1-2 in FP1

Valtteri Bottas set the pace as Mercedes dominated the opening practice session for Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Bottas edged his teammate Lewis Hamilton by less than a tenth, with Sebastian Vettel the best of the Ferraris but almost one second off the pace in third.

Mercedes started the session with a seven-lap run on medium tyres as most teams sought to make the most of the dry track running.

Saturday’s final hour-long practice and qualifying sessions have been cancelled out of precaution amid the threat of Typhoon Hagibis. That has left teams with only Friday’s 90-minute sessions to prepare, and FP2 is at risk of being compromised by rain.

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Hamilton set the early pace on the initial runs on mediums, posting a 1m30.832s, although by the halfway point of the session Bottas had moved to the front on a 1m30.524s.

In the second half of FP1 teams switched to soft-tyre running, with Ferrari the first to do so.
That allowed Vettel to hold top spot, briefly, but his 1m29.720s was quickly eclipsed by both Mercedes drivers.

Hamilton toppled Vettel with a 1m28.807s before Bottas went even faster, setting a 1m28.731s.
No further improvements left the Mercedes duo well clear as only Vettel managed a time within a second of the leader.

Charles Leclerc was fourth-fastest in the other Ferrari, just under two tenths slower than Vettel and a similar margin clear of Max Verstappen in the lead Red Bull.

Verstappen’s early pace was not as strong as expected for the home race of Red Bull engine partner Honda, with teammate Alex Albon three tenths slower in sixth.

They were not far clear of the leading midfield cars, which were headed by Carlos Sainz. The McLaren driver finished the session seventh, 1.9s slower than Bottas, and just ahead of the Racing Point of Sergio Perez.

Lance Stroll backed up teammate Perez in ninth, with Lando Norris completing the top 10 in the second McLaren.

Nico Hulkenberg was only 13th in the best of the upgraded Renaults, which were completing aero assessments through FP1.

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F1 debutant Naoki Yamamoto was a solid 17th and only 0.1s slower than regular Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat.

The Honda-backed reigning Super Formula and SUPER GT champion completed 30 laps, more than anyone, on his maiden grand prix weekend appearance at his home race. Pierre Gasly will reclaim his Toro Rosso seat for FP2.

Session results:

Cla	#	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Gap
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	Mercedes	26	1'28.731
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	25	1'28.807	0.076
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	Ferrari	26	1'29.720	0.989
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	Ferrari	20	1'29.912	1.181
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	Honda	22	1'30.046	1.315
6	23	Alex Albon	Red Bull	Honda	24	1'30.375	1.644
7	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	McLaren	Renault	21	1'30.702	1.971
8	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	Mercedes	21	1'30.810	2.079
9	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	Mercedes	27	1'30.959	2.228
10	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	Renault	24	1'31.001	2.270
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	Ferrari	25	1'31.283	2.552
12	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	27	1'31.307	2.576
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	Renault	29	1'31.426	2.695
14	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	Renault	25	1'31.563	2.832
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	Ferrari	22	1'31.785	3.054
16	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	Honda	23	1'31.920	3.189
17	38	Naoki Yamamoto	Toro Rosso	Honda	30	1'32.018	3.287
18	63	George Russell	Williams	Mercedes	23	1'32.80	4.069
19	88	Robert Kubica	Williams	Mercedes	27	1'33.484	4.753
20	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	4	1'36.887	8.156
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