Lewis Hamilton says he is still “figuring out” his Ferrari after a tricky Friday of running at Suzuka, though he believes he has a clear reference point to guide setup changes ahead of Saturday qualifying. Hamilton ended the second practice session roughly eight tenths slower than Oscar Piastri and spent the day battling oversteer — a handling issue that also affected team-mate Charles Leclerc.
During longer runs late in FP2 Hamilton radioed that he had “no confidence” in the car, but afterwards was more optimistic that overnight work and simulator analysis can move the package in the right direction. He said there are similarities with feelings he had last year and that he has a “north star” for where he needs the car to be; finding the route to that target is his priority before qualifying.
McLaren top as Mercedes close behind
Oscar Piastri set the benchmark in FP2, with championship leader George Russell finishing about two tenths adrift as Mercedes hunt to regain the top step after a recent team shake-up. Russell said Mercedes still have performance to unlock but were caught off guard by McLaren’s pace.
“McLaren were pretty fast. A little bit of a surprise,” Russell commented, adding that there was still work to do on his side, particularly with energy management and optimising the car overnight.
McLaren team-mate Lando Norris endured a disrupted day after a hydraulics leak cost him around 20 minutes of running and forced him to abandon a planned final long run. Norris described the session as a poor day for gathering data and said the lack of laps left him on the back foot heading into Saturday.
“Not the way you want things to go — you learn with every lap, and I’m lacking a lot of them,” he said. The team, Piastri added, will keep focusing on improving their own performance and building momentum from Friday.
Red Bull issues persist
Red Bull struggled to find balance and grip, with Max Verstappen 10th and roughly 1.4 seconds off the top time, raising questions about their ability to reach Q3 at Suzuka. The team brought a package of upgrades — new sidepods, a revised floor and an updated engine cover — but the parts did not immediately deliver the expected gains.
“We’re lacking balance and grip,” Verstappen said. “You try to crack one thing, then find another problem. It’s very difficult to solve, so I don’t expect miracles overnight. We need to understand where these issues are coming from.”
Sky Sports F1 Japanese GP schedule
Saturday March 28
– 2.15am: Japanese GP Practice Three (session starts at 2.30am)
– 5am: Japanese GP Qualifying build-up
– 6am: JAPANESE GP QUALIFYING
– 8am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday March 29
– 4.30am: Japanese GP build-up – Grand Prix Sunday
– 6am: THE JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
– 8am: Japanese GP reaction – Chequered Flag
– 9am: Ted’s Notebook
*All listed sessions also live on Sky Sports Main Event where indicated.
Formula 1 remains at the iconic Suzuka Circuit for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, with coverage live on Sky Sports F1. Viewers without a Sky subscription can stream Sky Sports via NOW.