Japan '25: FP1 Recap

The hot topic Yuki Tsunoda was out first for FP1 in the ‘White Bull’ at his home race weekend in Japan. He seemed to have a solid grip on the car’s handling and pace, running just 0.1 seconds behind his new teammate (and 4 time world champion, no pressure) Max Verstappen. Over team radio, Tsunoda just had one word to describe the car: “interesting”. Whether it will be the good or the bad kind will only be proven with time. It seems so far that Liam Lawson’s controversial demotion to VCARB will likely work in Red Bull’s favour, with the Kiwi managing P13 in his old team once again. 

It’s also another home race for Japanese endurance driver Ryo Hirakawa, who took to the track in place of Jack Doohan for Alpine and ended the session in P12, a solid display. 

The addition of 5 new gravel traps to the circuit proved to be a problem for a few drivers, even including the fastest driver of the session, Lando Norris. The championship leader questioned fast graining on his tyres, which makes the teams’ starting choices for the race somewhat unclear. The track’s dry grass edges and close cornered barriers made for an interesting mix in results, with his teammate Oscar Piastri ending up down in P15 (a steep drop from his successful free practice sessions so far this season). 

Consistency has been George Russell’s middle name this season, gaining back-to-back podiums at the previous 2 Grands Prix, and now continuing to climb the timings at Suzuka. He has proven himself to be a commendable and mature first driver for Mercedes, solidly leading them to second in the Constructor’s title. 

Sainz’s growing pains at Williams continued this afternoon, although even with a few wobbles off-track he still managed to provide some valuable laps for the team and ended up P10. The Oxfordshire team have already beaten their total points for the entirety of the 2024 season, and with Alexander Albon alongside Sainz, an opportunity for the historic team’s comeback could be in the works.

Photo credits: "2013 Japanese Grand Prix - Sunday" by CaterhamF1 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.