Mercedes leads ahead of Red Bull in a wet Free Practice at Suzuka

In the first session Alonso was fastest with Sainz second

   MADRID, 7 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

British driver George Russell (Mercedes) finished first on the first day of free practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, which is being held at the Suzuka Circuit and is returning after two years of hiatus due to the coronavirus, with his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, in second place, ahead of the Red Bull of the Dutchman Max Vertsappen and the Mexican Sergio Pérez; with the Spaniards Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Alpine), sixth and seventh, respectively.

After a first round of Free Practice with the rain as the main protagonist and in which Alonso was the fastest, leading the Spanish double with Sainz second, Suzuka hosted a second session without the Haas driver Mick Schumacher, who crashed his car against the barrier before the end of the first session.

Russell was the fastest in the second and final session of the day in Japan, with a time of 1:41.935, two tenths faster than Hamilton (1:42.170), who completed the one-two for the British team. RedBull couldn't beat Mercedes and improved in the second round, placing 'Mad Max' (1:42.786) third, although eight tenths off the best time, and 'Checo', fourth (1:42.834).

The session began with very heavy rain, which caused the teams to hesitate to go out on the track, with a few minutes of uncertainty. Nicholas Latifi (Williams) broke the ice, although it was Carlos Sainz from Madrid who completed the best lap, although far from the fastest time of the day (1:49.615).

After a first half hour with hardly any changes, with the time of the Spaniard from Ferrari at the top, and it was not until the last third of the session, already with intermediate tires, when the best times of the batch were seen. The track was improving and Verstappen, taking advantage of the higher temperature of the track, entered the 1:43, although Russel snatched the first place quickly, with the Ferraris far from the lead.

In a second attempt before the end, the young Briton achieved the best time with which he would close the session at the top, ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen, who have not managed to overtake him. Sainz defended a fourth fastest time, which Pérez finally took from him, with the surprise of Kevin Magnussen (1:43.187) getting a creditable fifth place, ahead of Sainz and Alonso.

The driver who managed to roll the most laps (25) was Yuki Tsunoda (Alphatauri) with a time of 1:45.257, in a second session that lasted 90 minutes and not 60. That second push led by Russell was the last striking thing in the session, as conditions worsened, leaving the teams without many alternatives. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) completed the 'top 10', with Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), eleventh.