Max Verstappen, from Holland, driving for Red Bull Racing, showcased his skills at the Japanese Grand Prix, despite challenging weather conditions. Red Bull once again proved to be the team to beat, leading the time sheets in the first practice session. The Suzuka circuit, with its figure-eight layout, is a favorite among drivers and provides the perfect opportunity to test the capabilities of their racing machines. Verstappen, with his upgraded RB20, aims to bounce back from his previous retirement and replicate his impressive performance in September.
Verstappen’s dominance in Japan last year served as a turning point in his season, as he went on to win the next eight races. However, his streak was interrupted due to a mechanical issue in the last race. Nevertheless, Verstappen once again showcased his skill in the current practice session, setting the fastest lap time of 1:30.056s.
While Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc acknowledged the gap between his team and Red Bull, he remains determined to fight for pole position. Leclerc believes there is still work to be done to keep up with the pace of Red Bull and Verstappen. On the other hand, Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz, winner of the Australian Grand Prix, expressed optimism about Ferrari’s progress. Sainz was pleased with the team’s performance as he finished as the closest non-Red Bull driver in the first practice session, just three tenths behind Verstappen.
“It’s still the first practice session. We are uncertain about the amount of fuel and the engine modes they are using.
“Last year, we were eight tenths slower in qualifying, so being two tenths behind in FP1 is a positive start. However, they will be challenging to beat.”
The Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko, acknowledges the potential threat from Ferrari in the long races, despite suspicions of their higher engine modes and lower fuel levels.
“Ferrari is quite fast. But we believe or have confidence that they ran with less fuel and a higher engine mode compared to us today,” discussed the Austrian.
“However, they are still very close to us. Leclerc’s three laps in the long race were quite impressive.
“We have a significant upgrade, but there was not enough time for adjustments during the first run.
“We hope that tomorrow we have dry sessions so we can extract the maximum performance from the car. Our goal is to be ahead, especially in qualifying, but also in the race.”
This race weekend is of great importance to Sergio Perez, who faced a comprehensive defeat from Verstappen last year at this circuit and retired twice.
However, the Mexican driver, who remains optimistic about securing a contract extension, seems more competitive this time and finished less than two tenths behind in FP1.
Given that Suzuka is not an easy track for overtaking and the turbulence behind another car is becoming a bigger issue, grid position will be crucial.
Perez has never been particularly strong in maximizing the car’s potential in a single lap and has not yet qualified on the front row this season.
On the other hand, Ferrari has struggled to generate enough tire temperature in one lap, which could hamper their performance in cooler temperatures.
After mastering the training sessions, Charles Leclerc was surprised by the way his SF-24 behaved when it mattered most, resulting in being overtaken by Lando Norris. This setback greatly reduced his chances of winning the race. McLaren, on the other hand, has consistently capitalized on such setbacks since their impressive turnaround last season, especially with their exceptional performance in high-speed corners at the Albert Park Circuit. This was evident when they secured a double podium in Suzuka. However, Norris expressed caution ahead of the weekend, acknowledging that Ferrari’s improvements in high-speed corners could pose a challenge for McLaren. Despite this, both drivers are optimistic about the potential of the MCL38 car, with Oscar Piastri confident that McLaren can compete at the highest level. McLaren team boss Andrea Stella emphasized the team’s goal of solidifying their position in third place, despite Mercedes’ expectations of a challenging weekend. Mercedes had a decent performance, with Lewis Hamilton describing FP1 as his best session so far in the new W15 car. Hamilton intends to make minimal changes to his setup to maintain the positive progress he has made. However, his performance drop in FP3 in Australia highlighted Mercedes’ vulnerability if conditions push them out of their ideal operating range. Aston Martin remains a relatively unknown entity among the top teams, with Lance Stroll being the chosen driver to test the team’s new upgrades. Fernando Alonso’s AMR24 will also receive overnight improvements, as Aston Martin aims to retain the talented Spanish driver. In the midfield, the renamed RB team has emerged as the most capable team to challenge the established order at the top.
Yuki Tsunoda arrived at the final qualifying session in two of the first three races and turned his eighth place starting position into a seventh place finish in a challenging grand prix two weeks ago.
The Japanese driver has never achieved a higher qualifying than 12th place at his home circuit, but he comes with a lot of momentum as his value in the F1 driver market continues to rise.
On the other hand, Daniel Ricciardo faced yet another setback in his ongoing attempt to recover from his difficult start to the season, completing a disappointing total of only nine laps.
During the first practice session, the Australian driver was in the pit wall while Ayumu Iwasa had his first experience behind the wheel of the VCARB 01. Unfortunately, Ricciardo’s plans were thwarted by the rain that arrived later.
Meanwhile, Haas has been cautious in managing expectations about their performance, but managed to score points in the last two races, including a double top-10 in Australia.
Likewise, Williams is also facing challenges, as Logan Sargeant’s accident during the first practice session means the team’s drivers will need to be extremely careful.
Fortunately, the American driver was lucky not to damage his car and miss consecutive races. However, he will have to use older parts due to the shortage of spare parts.
Sargeant insisted that his recent mistake was not a repeat of the errors he made in his rookie F1 season, but he will have to put those memories aside for tomorrow’s race.
Alpine took the first steps to reduce the excess weight that has affected their performance since pre-season, and Esteban Ocon put his A524 car on the edge of the top 10.
The French driver believed they could have scored points in Australia if it weren’t for an unscheduled pit stop to remove a visor film from a brake duct in the final stages of the race.
However, the seven-tenths gap to Norris in 10th place during the first practice session showed that teams like Alpine and the ever-evolving Sauber team rely on retirements to achieve good results.
With limited data to rely on and cooler track temperatures expected for the remainder of the Suzuka weekend, there may be more opportunities for teams to take advantage of.
© 2024
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