Max Verstappen puts Ferraris back in line
Formula 1, times
Max Verstappen continues to dominate the weekend at Suzuka, consolidating his status as the big favorite and swaggering through the second free practice session of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, round 16 of the Formula One World Championship. The Dutch Red Bull driver set the best time on Friday on soft tires, stopping the clock at 1'30"688, leaving behind important gaps but still smaller than in FP1.
The signs are also promising in terms of race pace, with Max Verstappen showing an impressive performance in the long-run, using Pirelli prototype tires for 2024. The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc è placed second in the qualifying simulation, but paid a gap of 320 thousandths from the top due to a small mistake in T1, where he even lost half a second to Verstappen.
The McLaren of Lando Norris performed well with third place, 464 thousandths behind the leader, followed by the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz in fourth place, 549 thousandths behind, although without particularly shining on the dry lap compared to his teammate. The Mercedes of George Russell è placed fifth, 640 thousandths from the leader, ahead of the Aston Martin of a rediscovered Fernando Alonso, sixth at 804 thousandths, and the Williams of Alex Albon, seventh at 867 thousandths.
Eighth place è was achieved by Australian rookie Oscar Piastri in the McLaren, who è was 974 thousandths behind the leader, while Sergio Perez in the Red Bull, who è found himself 1"022 behind teammate Verstappen on the same compound, caused a stir. Completing the top10 is Valtteri Bottas in a positive Alfa Romeo, 1"051 behind. Difficultiesà in the time-attack for Lewis Hamilton, who è ranked only 14° place, 1"141 from the overall best time of the day and half a second behind Russell’s Mercedes.
These are all the times:
1 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing1:30.688 4
2 Charles LECLERC Ferrari+0.320 4
3 Lando NORRIS McLaren+0.464 4
4 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari+0.549 4
5 George RUSSELL Mercedes+0.640 4
6 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin+0.804 4
7 Alexander ALBON Williams+0.867 5
8 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren+0.974 4
9 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing+1.022 4
10 Valtteri BOTTAS Alfa Romeo+1.051 3
11 Lance STROLL Aston Martin+1.083 6
12 Esteban OCON Alpine+1.106 4
13 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team+1.109 5
14 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes+1.141 5
15 Liam LAWSON AlphaTauri+1.453 5
16 Guanyu ZHOU Alfa Romeo+1.477 6
17 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team+1.481 4
18 Yuki TSUNODA AlphaTauri+1.490 4
19 Pierre GASLY Alpine– 5
20 Logan SARGEANT Williams+1.632 4
