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

P. # Driver Team Model Time Gap
1 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes MCL40 1’30.133
2 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes W17 1’30.225 0.092
3 63 George Russell Mercedes W17 1’30.338 0.205
4 1 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes MCL40 1’30.649 0.516
5 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-26 1’30.846 0.713
6 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari SF-26 1’30.980 0.847
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi R26 1’31.441 1.308
8 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes FW48 1’31.496 1.363
9 87 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari VF-26 1’31.498 1.365
10 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford RB22 1’31.509 1.376
11 31 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari VF-26 1’31.532 1.399
12 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford 03 1’31.590 1.457
13 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams-Mercedes FW48 1’31.608 1.475
14 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes A526 1’31.734 1.601
15 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford RB22 1’31.759 1.626
16 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi R26 1’31.933 1.800
17 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes A526 1’32.438 2.305
18 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari MAC-26 1’32.615 2.482
19 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Honda AMR26 1’33.596 3.463
20 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac-Ferrari MAC-26 1’33.689 3.556
21 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Honda AMR26 1’33.951 3.818
22 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford 03 No time

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2026 Japanese Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine

Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 – when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring journalist, Keith began running the site full-time in 2010, achieving a long-held ambition to dedicate his full attention to his passion for motor racing. View all posts by Keith Collantine