Lando Norris led the first practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix while Red Bull’s new driver made a promising start.
Yuki Tsunoda ended the first hour of practice just one tenth of a second behind team mate Max Verstappen. Both reported some unusual behaviour from their RB21s over the course of the session. “I found the car interesting on the track,” reported Tsunoda as he headed to the pits, Verstappen having previously described his handling as “super-weird” as “the car is just flexing a lot.”
The two Red Bulls, in their one-off white and red liveries, occupied fifth and sixth on the timing screens at the end of the session. Verstappen was half a second off Norris’s pace.
The McLaren driver did not look entirely comfortable, however. He went off at the exit of the chicane earlier in the session and complained about graining during his final laps on medium rubber before taking the chequered flag. His team mate Oscar Piastri was a lowly 15th.
George Russell had good pace earlier in the session on the medium tyre compound but couldn’t quite match Norris on the soft rubber. He ended the session a tenth of a second behind in second place. His team mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli was half a second off him in ninth place, having skidded into the gravel trap at the hairpin towards the end of the hour.
There was little to separate Ferrari’s drivers through much of the session. Charles Leclerc ended up narrowly ahead of Lewis Hamilton, the pair third and fourth ahead of the Red Bulls.
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Isack Hadjar continued to demonstrate the Racing Bulls’ pace, setting the eighth-quickest time, just three thousandths of a second off Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin. Liam Lawson, back at Racing Bulls, was three tenths off his team mate in 13th.
Behind Antonelli, Carlos Sainz Jnr took the final place in the top 10, despite a gaffe when he drove past Williams’ pit box. His team mate Alexander Albon also went off at the hairpin like Antonelli.
Alpine test driver Ryo Hirakawa enjoyed a trouble-free run to the 12th-fastest time, almost a second ahead of Pierre Gasly in the other A525. Haas brought a new floor for their VF-25 but their drivers ended the session ahead of only Gabriel Bortoleto’s Sauber.
2025 Japanese Grand Prix Grand Prix first practice result
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