Japanese GP: Russell quickest from Hamilton in wet FP2 session
Mercedes ended up 1-2 with George Russell fastest in FP2 of F1 Japanese GP from Lewis Hamilton in another wet session, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in P3.
It was still raining in FP2 of F1 Japanese GP at Suzuka as the FIA cancelled the scheduled Pirelli slick tyre test for 2023. The weather didn’t permit for dry running as the Italian manufacturer are now to add Mexico on their list apart from Austin.
The FIA, though, retained the 90 minutes time for the session as was decided for the Pirelli tyre test. The greasy condition caught out drivers as expected with a spin for Williams’ Nicholas Latifi along with off for AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez also had off at the same corner as Leclerc, as Mercedes pair of George Russell led the way with a 1m41.935s lap from teammate Lewis Hamilton (1m42.170s) with Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen (1m42.786s) and Perez (1m42.834s) following them.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen ended up fifth after a late quick lap that demoted Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1m43.204s) to sixth from Fernando Alonso (1m43.533s). The Dane was the lone Haas after the crash for Mick Schumacher in FP1 left the team to change the chassis, which forced him out of the session.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m43.733s) slotted in between the two Alpine drivers where Esteban Ocon (1m43.884s) was ninth from the other Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu (1m44.525s). Having had some work done on his car, Leclerc (1m44.803s) was only 11th where he was struggling to get a feel in his car.
The Williams pair of Latifi and Alexander Albon were 12th and 13th, while Haas’ Kevin Magnussen ended up 13th, with the first of AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda in 14th from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.
The McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo were 16th and 17th after they elected to do limited running, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly rounding the 19 runners.
