Disrupted Running but Positive Friday for the Team at Suzuka

George Russell

Firstly, it’s good to see that Jack (Doohan) was OK after his accident. That was a very big crash and hopefully he’ll be able to get back out in the car tomorrow morning.

From our side, we had a positive day. The car has been handling nicely, although we know the forecast wind change tomorrow will have an impact. McLaren once again looks very strong, and there were several other teams that were competitive on the single lap. It’s unusual to see so many teams so close together so we will have to be at our best to be competing near the front. If we do the job we know we can do though, I’m confident that we can be in the fight for the front two rows in Qualifying.

Given the interrupted FP2, we still have a few unknowns heading into the race on Sunday. We were only able to complete four laps on the Hard tyre. We therefore have little data to work with in terms of degradation, and any possible graining, on that compound. There is also a threat of rain for race day which could make things interesting. The important thing for Friday though is that we were competitive on the timing screens and that gives us a good platform to build on.

Kimi Antonelli

This is my first time at Suzuka and it’s an amazing track to drive! I enjoyed myself out there and I’m looking forward to building my confidence more and more as we head through the weekend. FP1 was a solid session for us, and I was able to put together some decent laps. FP2 was much more disrupted, and a little messy on my side. I wasn’t able to get a clean lap, and I didn’t get the most out of the car in sector one. We will work on that overnight, analyse the data, and come back stronger tomorrow.

There are definitely promising signs for us. George did a good job all day and was consistently near the front of the field. The balance of the car also feels good, and I know there is more that I can extract from it. I’m looking forward to getting back out there in FP3 and using that to build positively into Qualifying.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Today was a decent start to our Japanese Grand Prix weekend. We got a look at all three tyre compounds, evaluate the resurfaced first sector, and got a good read on the car balance. George was up to speed immediately and delivered some competitive lap times on the single lap in FP1 and had what looked like a solid long run. FP2 was a much more disrupted hour with four red flags so there wasn’t as much we could learn.

For Kimi, this is his first time in Suzuka. It's a track that requires commitment and confidence and he's been steadily building both through the day. No doubt he'll be able to make another step tomorrow and fingers cross we'll have a clean session without so many red flags in FP3.

The wind will turn through 180° for tomorrow which tends to have a big impact on the balance here, but we can assess that on the simulator overnight and look at any changes that are required to rebalance. Added to that, there is a risk of rain on Sunday. McLaren still look like the ones to beat but it's been an encouraging start to the weekend. Hopefully we'll be in a position to fight for the podium on Sunday.

FP1 Result

FP2 Result