Free Practice 1 – Japanese GP: Sainz, a meaningless fastest time

The rain was forecasted and it didn’t miss its appointment on the Suzuka track, on this first day of practice for the Japanese Grand Prix.

During the first half-hour, despite a few attempts to go out on max-wet tires, no driver sets a timed lap. It is not until the final part of the session that a benchmark is set with Max Verstappen at 1.51.741, closely followed by his teammate at Toro Rosso, Carlos Sainz.

Taking advantage of a slight lull for a few minutes, several drivers attempt to go out on intermediate tires. The two Williams cars of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa, however, anticipate their runs a bit too early and struggle to keep all four wheels on the track. As a result, Valtteri Bottas went wide in the famous 130R corner, while Felipe Massa went exploring the gravel in turn 9.

Meanwhile, Nico Rosberg puts his Mercedes at the top of the timesheet with an unconvincing 1:51.117. It’s only in the final minutes of the session that the best time of the morning is set by Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard takes advantage of better track conditions to clock a 1:49.434, just ahead of Daniil Kvyat’s Red Bull at 1:49.938, before the rain intensifies again.

The complete standings of FP1: