Piastri leads Mercedes pair in second practice at Suzuka

Oscar Piastri gave McLaren encouragement by setting the fastest time in the second practice session on Friday at Suzuka.

He lapped one-and-a-half seconds faster than the best time seen in first practice, producing a 1’30.133 on soft tyres in his MCL40.

The Mercedes pair completed their qualifying simulation runs shortly after him but narrowly failed to beat his time. Andrea Kimi Antonelli ended the session second, less than a tenth off the quickest time, just as he had in first practice.

It wasn’t an entirely smooth session for McLaren. Lando Norris was confined to his garage for much of the first half hour due to a technical problem and had a dramatic off at Spoon curve once he joined the session. However he was quick enough to take fourth place behind George Russell.

As in first practice, the Ferrari pair came next. The SF-26 drivers looked less comfortable, however, Lewis Hamilton reporting he had no confidence in his car.

Although the latest generation of F1 cars lapped just two seconds off their 2025 times in second practice, they remained significantly slower at certain points on the lap. This was most noticeably the case on the approach to 130R and the subsequent through to the chicane to the finishing line. Charles Leclerc had to weave through a collection of slower cars as he finished one lap.

Max Verstappen, who was held up by Hamilton approaching 130R in first practice, had a similar encounter with Franco Colapinto the second session. The stewards are looking into both incidents.

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Nico Hulkenberg produced a strong seventh place for Audi while Alexander Albon took his Williams to the rare heights of eighth, despite coming to a brief stop early in the session when he lost power. Oliver Bearman’s Haas and Verstappen completed the top 10.

Norris wasn’t the only driver delayed by technical problems. Gabriel Bortoleto and Sergio Perez managed just a handful of laps, while Arvid Lindblad was confined to his garage after a single tour due to more technical trouble on his Racing Bulls.

2026 Japanese Grand Prix second practice result

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