Lance Stroll (CDN) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR24. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka, Japan,
Lance Stroll (CDN) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR24. Formula 1 World…

2024 F1 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday Practice - As it happened

A recap of what happened in Friday practice for the Japanese Grand Prix.

The fourth round of the 2024 F1 season takes us to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Moved to an earlier slot on the calendar, the iconic figure of eight circuit is a fan favourite.

Red Bull will be hoping to bounce back following Max Verstappen's rare DNF last time out in Australia.

 

 

05 Apr 2024
04:17
Red Bull 1-2

Red Bull show a glimpse of their pace as Verstappen storms back to the top with a 1m30.056s, 0.181s ahead of Perez.

Sainz, Russell, Hamilton complete the top five now.

04:11
FP1 back underway

Everyone heads back onto the track on soft tyres.

04:07
Sargeant crashes out in FP1
Sargeant crashes out at Suzuka in FP1
Sargeant crashes out at Suzuka in FP1
04:04
Sargeant

The Williams driver had ran wide at Turn 7 before spinning and clattering the barrier.

Fortunately, the damage doesn't look too severe so hopefully his chassis is OK.

04:01
Red flag

Sargeant - in the repaired chassis - has crashed and caused a red flag. 

04:01
Hamiltong goes fastest

A 1m30.543s for Hamilton puts him top of the timesheets on the softs, 0.9s ahead of Verstappen.

03:59
Soft tyres

A lot of the drivers are now switching to the softs for some runs. Hamilton is the first of those drivers on the red-marked tyre.

03:58
Top 10 with 30 minutes to go

Verstappen, Norris, Alonso, Perez, Russell, Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton, Tsunoda and Bottas.

03:53
On track at Suzuka
Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A524. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka, Japan, Practice
Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A524. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4…
03:52
Verstappen storms to the top

On the hard tyre, Verstappen goes clear with a 1m31.463s, 0.3s ahead of Norris.

03:47
Alonso improves

Alonso sets an identical lap to Norris at the top of the timesheets - a 1m31.781s for both of them.

03:45
Verstappen

A delayed start to FP1, Verstappen is now out there on the hards.

His first lap puts him ninth overall, 0.8s off.

03:40
Current top 10

Norris, Perez, Alonso, Leclerc, Hamilton, Tsunoda, Sainz, Piastri, Russell and Zhou.

03:39
Norris lowers the benchmark

A 1m31.781s for the McLaren drivers now puts him over 0.8s ahead of Sainz.

03:38
Early times

Norris leads the way currently on the mediums with a 1m32.767s, 0.178s ahead of Hamilton.

03:30
FP1 is now underway

The first 60-minute practice session is underway at Suzuka.

Ayumu Iwasa takes to the track - he's replacing Daniel Ricciardo in FP1.

03:30
Welcome

Hello everyone and welcome to the Crash.net live blog for the Japanese Grand Prix.

FP1 is about to start...