Japan '25: FP2 Recap

FP2 in Japan continued the eventful weekend, but the disruption had only just begun when Jack Doohan’s big crash into turn 1 stopped the session as the first red flag of the afternoon. Luckily, the Aussie driver was okay, but seemed visibly shaken as he slowly got out of the car. Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes confirmed that the crash was caused by the DRS function being left open into the first corner; an unfortunate start to the weekend for Doohan. Alpine mechanics will surely be working through the night to get his car in a working state again, hopefully ready for FP3, and more importantly qualifying. Despite a tremendous cleanup by the diligent race stewards after the first red flag, there was just 30 minutes of free practice left for the other drivers. 

Another red flag occurred mere minutes after the cars returned to the track. Fernando Alonso ended up beached in the gravel of turn 9, proving that the tricky track of Suzuka can be a challenge even for the most experienced of drivers. Whilst on a fast lap, the Aston Martin driver let the slightest dip of a wheel slip, which turned into a touch to the dry grass bank, and the loss of grip consequently sent him straight into one of the newly installed gravel traps. 

The third red flag was somewhat of a deja-vu, if you can cast your mind back to Shanghai last year where patches of grass set alight next to the track. Similarly in Japan, sparks from the cars’ skid blocks (a plank running along the bottom of an F1 car, used to stop it from being too low to the ground) created a small fire on the arid grass next to a kerb at turn 11. 

One of the many rookies of the 2025 season, Isack Hadjar (who seems to be a fan favourite and is adored by the paddock already), bounced back from the unfortunate start to his season in Melbourne. Hadjar ran third fastest, only behind the 2 McLaren cars that seem to be in a league of their own. He and his new teammate Liam Lawson went quicker than both of the senior Red Bull cars, reminding the big bosses they deserve their places on the grid. This was met with complaints of understeering from Verstappen, which the Red Bull Racing team have plenty of time to investigate over the weekend. 

The fourth (and final this time) red flag was caused by more grass on fire, which seemed to be spreading pretty quickly due to the strong wind at the circuit. With under 15 seconds left of the practice session, it was quickly suspended and the fire was extinguished. 

George Russell was eager to make the most of his shortened time on track, as he squeezed past Max Verstappen in the pitlane, and chased down Charles Leclerc on track. The majority of the grid seemed frustrated by the restricted session they were given, with many drivers not being able to set fast laps at all. FP3 tomorrow will be warmly embraced by all (except maybe Jack Doohan’s engineers).

Photo credit: "2023 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Round3 SUZUKA GT 450km RACE" by imp98 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.