Max Verstappen led a Red Bull 1-2 in the opening practice
hour at the Japanese Grand Prix with Ferrari and Mercedes vying for best of the
rest.
Rebounding from his Australian Grand Prix retirement,
Verstappen clocked a 1:30.056 to grab the weekend’s opening P1 at the Suzuka
circuit.
Japanese Grand Prix FP1 results
His team-mate Perez was his nearest challenger in a session
that was red-flagged when Logan Sargeant crashed his Williams at Turn 7.
Touching the grass on the exit, he lost control of his
Williams at speed resulting in a hard hit with the front of the car into the
barrier followed by a second hefty knock from the rear.
Carlos Sainz was third fastest for Ferrari, leading a
Mercedes/Ferrari sandwich in George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Charles
Leclerc.
The latter was half a second down on Verstappen’s P1 time.
