Less than a week after the drama of Malaysia F1 returns once again to the Suzuka circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix. A favourite of the drivers that separates the men from the boys, Suzuka is well known for its fearsome turns. Including the Spoon curve, the Degner’s, and of course 130R
This proved no challenge for the man leading the world championship at the moment though, Nico Rosberg, as he set the fastest lap in his Mercedes in Free Practice 1 on a 1:32.431. Just two tenths of a second faster than his team mate Lewis Hamilton. It’s only been five days since Hamilton’s engine blew at the Malaysian GP, resulting in him having to use his engine from Singapore in the car this weekend, but it’s clear Rosberg had the advantage in FP1. Beating Hamilton by two tenths of a second on both the soft and medium tyre compounds. Tough the teams overall advantage was ominous for the other teams down the grid. They were over a second ahead of the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, who finish the session 3rd and 4th respectively.
Malaysian GP winners Red Bull once again look to be having a tight weekend with Ferrari, on a circuit that tends to suit their aero package well with the high downforce needed for cornering. They eased themselves into the weekend, only running on the medium tyre in FP1 to finish 5th and 6th respectively. With Daniel Ricciardo ahead of team mate Max Verstappen. Ricciardo was trailing a new front wing on his RB12, with positive responses for the overall downforce on the car around the circuit.
The Noah’s ark theme of practice results carried on with the Force India’s finishing 7th and 8th respectively. With Nico Hulkenberg taking the victory in the battle of teammates there. While it was a promising session for the McLaren of Fernando Alonso, who finished the session 9th with his upgraded power Unit. The McLaren driver didn’t have it all his own way though. As an early spin at Spoon curve damaged his rear wing. The Williams of Valtteri Bottas rounds out the top 10 for FP1 in his Williams.
Alonso was not the only driver to suffer with a spin during FP1. Romain Grosjean also made contact with the barriers in his Haas, into the second Degner, but his crash was more concerning with the brakes once again appearing to cause fundamental problem. The incident comes less than a week after he crashed out of the Malaysian GP when his brake discs exploded.
“The brakes didn’t brake,” deadpanned Grosjean.
Free practice two was even close between the two Mercedes drivers. With Nico narrowly edging out Hamilton at the top of the timesheets. The two Mercedes drivers were split by less than a tenth of a second with Rosberg just ahead following a lap of 1:32.250. Rosberg didn’t have it all his own way though as Hamilton was able to out-pace him when he was running on the hard tyre and Rosberg was using the medium tyre. The result is it should be a good battle for pole position tomorrow between the two championship contenders.
“They are both in great shape,” reported Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe.
Ferrari were once again 3rd, just over three tenths of a second slower than Rosberg’s fastest time, with Raikkonen the faster Ferrari. Vettel was only able to manage the 5th fastest time, with the Red Bull of Verstappen splitting the two of them. Verstappen’s long run pace looked very promising, suggesting that Red Bull could be a threat once again to Mercedes in the race. Team mate Ricciardo could only manage the 12th fastest time in the session following a disturbed qualifying run. The Virtual Safety Car was deployed when Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas broke down, on what was another difficult session for the American team.
It was once again another positive session for the Force India team, with Perez 6th and Hulkenberg 7th. The two drivers seemed dialed into the car this weekend as they look to extend their three point lead over Williams in the constructors this weekend. They were not the only team having a better weekend, as Alonso’s McLaren maintained the team’s recent improvement by reaching the top ten, finishing the session 8th. Bottas was once again in the top ten for Williams in 9th place, while he hasn’t run as high as the Williams it is well known the team doesn’t show their true pace on Friday, suggesting the battle between the two is likely to be closer come qualifying. Carlos Sainz rounded out the top ten in his Toro Rosso, a surprise given the team are still running the 2015 Ferrari engine.
Free Practice One Results
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:32.431
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes +0.215
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, +1.094
4. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, +1.386
5. Daniel Ricciardo. Red Bull, +1.681
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, +1.948
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, +2.099
8. Sergio Perez, Force India, +2.336
9. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, +2.572
10. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, +2.950
11. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, +3.015
12. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, +3.241
13. Jenson Button, McLaren, +3.246
14. Romain Grosjean, Haas, +3.257
15. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, +3.536
16. Felipe Massa, Williams, +3.738
17. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, +3.788
18. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, +3.863
19. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, +4.391
20. Esteban Ocon, Manor, +5.366
21. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, +5.535
22. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, +5.561
Free Practice Two Results
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:32.250
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, + 0.072
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, + 0.323
4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, + 0.811
5. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, + 0.853
6. Sergio Perez, Force India, + 1.320
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, + 1.623
8. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, + 1.735
9. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, + 1.778
10. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, + 1.836
11. Felipe Massa, Williams, + 1.877
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, + 1.900
13. Romain Grosjean, Haas, + 1.991
14. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, + 2.055
15. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, + 2.089
16. Jenson Button, McLaren, + 2.148
17. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, + 2.393
18. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, + 2.510
19. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, + 2.574
20. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, + 3.042
21. Esteban Ocon, Manor, + 3.150
22. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, + 4.068
Feature Image Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas
