Mercedes first and second in opening practice with McLaren and Ferrari close behind

Mercedes led the way in the opening practice session at Suzuka with McLaren and Ferrari close behind.

World championship leader George Russell was consistent quick across the opening hour of running, heading the initial times when drivers ran the hard tyres and staying ahead after switching to softs. But team mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli was close behind, the pair separated by just two hundredths of a second.

Russell’s opening lap time of 1’31.666 was over three seconds slower than the best time seen in the same session last year and 4.6s off the pole position time. Drivers are allowed to recharge 9MJ of energy per lap in practice but that will be cut to 8MJ for qualifying.

The session produced unusually uniform results: all bar three of the teams ended it with their drivers in consecutive positions. The top three teams lapped within four tenths of a second of each other, McLaren closest to Mercedes instead of Ferrari.

Max Verstappen got within eight tenths of a second of Russell but both Red Bull drivers were unhappy with their car’s balance and reported downshift problems – the latter not an unusual complaint for them in practice. Isack Hadjar ended the session outside the top 10.

One year on from his demotion from Red Bull, Liam Lawson ended the session close behind his former team mate Verstappen. His new team mate, Arvid Lindblad, was fortunate to avoid damage when he had a significant snap of oversteer heading into Spoon Curve and took to the run-off area. He was one of several drivers to struggle with the corner, but his moment was by far the most dramatic. Despite that drama he completed the top 10 behind Esteban Ocon’s Haas.

The team mates were paired up neatly at the bottom of the times, too. Alexander Albon had a particularly eventful session on his way to the 18th-fastest time, sliding off at Degner Two and brushing the barrier.

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Later he lunged down the inside of Sergio Perez at the chicane, but the Cadillac driver was unaware the Williams was there and turned in. The pair made contact, damaging their cars.

Perez had a close encounter with Russell at the same point on the track during the session, prompting a complaint on the radio from the Mercedes driver, who otherwise enjoyed a smooth start to his weekend.

Fernando Alonso did not take part in the opening session as he arrived late to Suzuka following the birth of his first child. Aston Martin reserve driver Jak Crawford filled in for him, fulfilling one of the team’s obligations to run an inexperienced driver in first practice.

After the session the stewards summoned Lewis Hamilton for potentially impeding Verstappen on the high-speed run to 130R.

2026 Japanese Grand Prix first practice result

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