Fernando Alonso’s Alpine was the fastest car in FP1 at the Japanese GP, before George Russell beat his time in FP2, both sessions in wet conditions.
Results of Free Practice 1 of the Japanese GP: Alonso faster than Sainz
| Cla | Pilot | Chassis | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 7 | 1’42.248 | 204.455 | ||
| two | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
ferrari | fifteen | 1,42,563 | 0.315 | 0.315 | 203,827 |
| 3 |  Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 16 | 1’42.634 | 0.386 | 0.071 | 203.686 |
| 4 |  Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 5 | 1’43.022 | 0.774 | 0.388 | 202.919 |
| 5 |  Kevin Magnussen |
Haas | 15 | 1’43,258 | 1,010 | 0.236 | 202,455 |
| 6 |  Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 4 | 1’43.362 | 1.114 | 0.104 | 202.252 |
| 7 |  Mick Schumacher |
Haas | 13 | 1’43.761 | 1.513 | 0.399 | 201.474 |
| 8 |  Lando Norris |
McLaren | 7 | 1’43.889 | 1.641 | 0.128 | 201.226 |
| 9 |  Valtteri Bottas |
Alfa Romeo | 13 | 1’43.969 | 1.721 | 0.080 | 201.071 |
| 10 |  Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 4 | 1,44,234 | 1986 | 0.265 | 200,560 |
| 11 |  Guanyu Zhou |
Alfa Romeo | 15 | 1’44.429 | 2.181 | 0.195 | 200.185 |
| 12 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren | 8 | 1,44,486 | 2,238 | 0.057 | 200,076 |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 6 | 1’44.558 | 2.310 | 0.072 | 199.938 |
| 14 |  Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin | 10 | 1’44.570 | 2.322 | 0.012 | 199.915 |
| 15 |  Alexander Albon |
williams | 9 | 1’44.791 | 2.543 | 0.221 | 199.494 |
| 16 | Pierre Gasly |
AlphaTauri | 12 | 1’44,878 | 2,630 | 0.087 | 199,328 |
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi |
Williams | 11 | 1’45.424 | 3.176 | 0.546 | 198.296 |
| 18 | George Russell |
Mercedes | 4 | 1’46.103 | 3.855 | 0.679 | 197.027 |
| 19 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
Alpha Tauri | 16 | 1’46.192 | 3.944 | 0.089 | 196.862 |
| 20 | Sebastian Vettel |
Aston Martin | 8 | 1’48.090 | 5.842 | 1.898 | 193.405 |
| see results | |||||||
What happened in Free Practice 1 of the 2022 Japanese GP of F1?
Rain altered conditions at the start of FP1, and Kevin Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda were the first brave to hit the track on wet tyres.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was quickest at the start of the session with a 1m49.952s after 20 minutes, with team-mate Charles Leclerc even radioing that intermediate tires might be more suitable. The Monegasque dropped to a 1m48.104s, before Sainz hit him back with a 1m47.758s.
Max Verstappen lowered the bar with 25 minutes to go on intermediate tyres, setting a 1m44.059s on his first fastest lap, 3.699s quicker than the best time so far. Then, Esteban Ocon’s Alpine rose to first place with a time of 1:43.022.
Leclerc (1m42.634s) and Sainz (1m42.563s) took turns in the lead before Alonso set a time of 1m42.248s when the rain intensified again, ending the session some 12 minutes earlier than planned.
Sainz and Leclerc took second and third place, ahead of Ocon, Magnussen and Verstappen.
After practice starts on the finish straight with the clock at zero, Mick Schumacher crashed his Haas and destroyed the chassis of his Haas, putting an end to his day.
Japanese GP Free Practice 2 results: Russell ahead of Hamilton
| Cla | Pilot | Chassis | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell |
Mercedes | 23 | 1’41.935 | 205.083 | ||
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 22 | 1’42.170 | 0.235 | 0.235 | 204.611 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 24 | 1’42.786 | 0.851 | 0.616 | 203.385 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 26 | 1,42,834 | 0.899 | 0.048 | 203,290 |
| 5 | Kevin Magnussen |
Haas | 17 | 1’43,187 | 1,252 | 0.353 | 202,595 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
ferrari | 23 | 1,43,204 | 1,269 | 0.017 | 202,561 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 14 | 1’43.533 | 1.598 | 0.329 | 201.918 |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas |
Alfa Romeo | 20 | 1’43.733 | 1.798 | 0.200 | 201.528 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 13 | 1’43.884 | 1.949 | 0.151 | 201.235 |
| 10 | Guanyu Zhou |
Alfa Romeo | 17 | 1’44.525 | 2.590 | 0.641 | 200.001 |
| 11 | Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 10 | 1’44.709 | 2.774 | 0.184 | 199.650 |
| 12 | Nicholas Latifi |
Williams | 16 | 1’44.962 | 3.027 | 0.253 | 199.169 |
| 13 | Alexander Albon |
williams | 15 | 1’45.039 | 3.104 | 0.077 | 199.023 |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda |
Alpha Tauri | 27 | 1’45.257 | 3.322 | 0.218 | 198.611 |
| 15 | Sebastian Vettel |
Aston Martin | 24 | 1’45.261 | 3.326 | 0.004 | 198.603 |
| 16 | Lando Norris |
McLaren | 11 | 1’45.885 | 3.950 | 0.624 | 197.433 |
| 17 | Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren | 9 | 1’46.030 | 4,095 | 0.145 | 197,163 |
| 18 | Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin | 21 | 1’46.776 | 4.841 | 0.746 | 195.785 |
| 19 | Pierre Gasly |
AlphaTauri | 13 | 1’47.109 | 5,174 | 0.333 | 195,176 |
| 20 | Mick Schumacher |
Haas | 0 | ||||
| see results | |||||||
What happened in Free Practice 2 of the 2022 F1 Japanese GP?
That session was extended from 60 to 90 minutes to test Pirelli’s tires for 2023, but rain canceled that idea, although the extra 30 minutes remained.
Sainz set the pace early on with a 1m49.615s on wet tyres, before going off at Turn 1. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who was 13th in FP1, was quickest a few minutes later with a 1m49.489s and radioed that the track was almost ready for intermissions.
His team mate, Russell, was the first to mount the mixed green tire and lowered the time to 1m46.891s. Hamilton also rode the intermediates then and posted a 1m44.298s to reclaim the lead.
However, conditions remained tricky and Leclerc came very close to hitting the wall, although he blamed a brake problem. Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez repeated a similar excursion a little later.
Verstappen briefly took first place with a 1m43.571s, before Hamilton snatched it away with a 1m43.536s and then Russell dropped to a 1m42.968s. Verstappen was still quickest again with a 1m42.786s, before Mercedes took a one-two finish with Russell in the lead thanks to his 1m41.935s.
Verstappen and Pérez finished third and fourth, ahead of Magnussen, Sainz and Alonso.
