McLaren’s Oscar Piastri set the fastest time in the second practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday, which was severely affected by heavy rain at Suzuka. Australian Piastri, who finished third in last year’s race, clocked 1 minute 34.725 seconds in intermittent showers, 0.501 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Three-time world champion Max Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez did not take part in the second training session. Verstappen led Perez in a one-two with the Red Bulls in the first practice session.
They were among the riders who stayed in the garage during the second session as the team tried to protect their tires in the tricky conditions.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third, 4.035 seconds behind Piastri.
Japanese favorite Yuki Tsunoda was fourth, with RB teammate Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren’s Lando Norris sixth.
Hamilton was first on the scene after more than 10 minutes, but he was back in the garage soon after.
Ricciardo was absent for the first session, with Japanese driver Ayumu Iwasa sitting in his seat, and when the rain started falling again, Ricciardo did the same.
Tsunoda and Ricciardo were the only two drivers to set a timed lap record until Piastri jumped to the top of the leaderboard and sparked a flurry of activity in the final minutes.
Things were different in the first session of the day, with Verstappen setting the fastest time in dry conditions.
Verstappen won the first two grands prix of the season but the Dutchman retired in Melbourne for the first time in two years with brake problems.
Normal service resumed at Suzuka Circuit after Williams driver Logan Sargeant crashed, but a red flag was raised within about 10 minutes.
Sargent spun off the track at a corner, spun on the gravel, and hit a barrier midway through the race.
The American walked away unscathed and his car was removed by a crane.
Williams team boss James Walls said the damage to Sargent’s car was “significant”.
“He had a hard time seeing where he was on the track, so basically he didn’t seem to be fully aware of where he was,” Walls said.
Sargent did not attend the second meeting.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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