Tsunoda impresses in Japanese GP practice

Lando Norris topped the session in a McLaren that looked far from settled with George Russell second and Charles Leclerc third.

It was a competitive hour with all four leading teams somewhere in contention, though Tsunoda’s presence in sixth, just a tenth away from Max Verstappen in fifth, caught the eye.

Liam Lawson was 13th on his return to Racing Bulls after a conservative opening session, some three-tenths away from new teammate Isack Hadjar.

The Suzuka circuit has undergone changes ahead of the event, including the addition of more gravel traps in some locations designed to prevent drivers from abusing track limits and the resurfacing of the opening sector.

Tsunoda’s initial laps in a Red Bull were hardly electric, some 1.8s down on Verstappen.

Red Bull had opted for a different tyre strategy from most, with soft compound tyres on both cars while most of its rivals ran mediums.

According to Tsunoda, the early balance was good, though he admitted he’d hardly begun pushing the RB21.

Still, his early laps saw him move to within half a second of Verstappen as the Dutchman complained his car was flexing.

His former teammate, Lawson, took a steady approach as the session started but was soon lapping at a similar pace to Hadjar.

The pair sat squarely in the middle of the midfield, though Hadjar did pop up towards the top of the timesheets just before the midway moment of the session.

Predictably that was bumped backwards quite quickly as the pace moved on.

Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull all showed promising pace, while McLaren took a far steadier approach and didn’t shoot to the top of the timesheets until much later.

Even on a set of soft tyres, Piastri remained mid-pack while Norris left the road at the final chicane after taking too much kerb.

He wasn’t alone, Alex Albon pinching a brake and skating off in his Williams as he avoided traffic at the hairpin.

Neither incident was especially dramatic and both drivers were able to continue.

With a new set of tyres, Piastri was able to rise to the top of the timesheets with just over 16 minutes remaining on a 1:28.549s.

It was the first indication of McLaren’s pace, though it was hardly a statement time.

The first 14 cars were covered by less than a second to that point—even that was misleading given it was Piastri who sat 15th.

Norris was also far from comfortable, complaining of graining on his front tyres, an ailment that hampered him in China last time out.

Even still, the championship leaders topped the opening session for the third time in as many events, though it’s advantage is much narrower than expected.