F1 Japanese GP Friday practice as it happened
Live text coverage of Friday's practice action at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- FP2 at the Japanese Grand Prix topped by Piastri
- George Russell and Mercedes lead the championship and the times in FP1
- Norris, Bortoleto and Lindblad suffer reliability woes in FP2
The 2026 Formula 1 season will continue at Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix, which marks the third stop on the calendar.
Mercedes returns to Suzuka off the back of a dominant start to the 2026 season, with the Silver Arrows claiming pole and victories at the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix.
George Russell leads the championship from Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who scored a maiden pole and victory last time out in China.
Ferrari will hope to close the gap as it continued its trend as Mercedes' closest challenger in China, with Lewis Hamilton taking a maiden podium for the Scuderia last time out after a thrilling duel with team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Ahead of this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, the FIA announced that it had reduced the energy harvesting limit from 9MJ to 8MJ, in a bid to combat energy management fears some had expressed coming to Suzuka.
The hope is that this will reduce the amount of superclipping seen during qualifying laps at Suzuka, with some drivers highlighting in China that the new cars could peg back the speed of some corners like 130R.
McLaren will be looking to get its season back on track at Suzuka, after suffering a double non-start in China due to a battery issue related to the Mercedes power unit.
Red Bull will also be hoping for better fortunes in Japan, after it struggled throughout the China weekend, while Max Verstappen retired due to a mechanical issue.
Verstappen grabbed headlines on Thursday at Suzuka after he refused to begin his media debrief until one journalist was ejected, over bitter feelings about questions over his clash with Russell in Spain last year.
The Dutchman also comes to Japan off the back of being disqualified from a victory in the NLS2 at the Nurburgring.
Fernando Alonso will sit out FP1 at Suzuka on Friday morning, with Jak Crawford taking his place at Aston Martin. The Spaniard was absent from Thursday's media day owing to the birth of his first child.
2026 Japanese Grand Prix Friday schedule
FP1 - 2:30am-3:30am GMT
FP2 - 6am-7am GMT
Hello and welcome to FP1 from the Japanese Grand Prix. For those in the UK, what even is this hour? Well done for your commitment to the cause! Jak Crawford will replace new father Fernando Alonso for FP1 at Aston Martin, but beyond that, we have the regular 21 other drivers set to hit the track.