Summary

  • McLaren's Oscar Piastri fastest in Japanese GP second practice

  • Mercedes' George Russell quickest in FP1 at Suzuka

  • Select audio icon for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra commentary (UK only)

  • Mercedes won opening two races of season

  • F1 has five-week break coming up after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia cancellations

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Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

  1. Most cars have headed out on track but British rookie Arvid Lindblad has early information for his Racing Bulls pit wall. The teenager says the upshifts are fine but the downshifts are not working, so 'box, box' is the call to come in.

    In the pit lane, Pierre Gasly gives us some early fruity language after a Williams blocked his path. His Alpine engineer is quick to say sorry on the radio.

  2. Jennie Gow
    F1 pit-lane reporter at Suzuka

    They're investigating a hydraulic leak on Lando Norris' car. They're working on it very furiously.

  3. Abbie Eaton
    British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Gremlins following McLaren into Suzuka.

  4. Go! Go! Go!

    Right, first coffee of the morning drunk, so let's get second practice under way.

    Hang on, Lando Norris is stuck in the garage, as his McLaren has an issue which the mechanics are trying to fix.

  5. Torrid session for Albon

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent at Suzuka

    Debris flies off the Williams of Alex Albon after he collided with Cadillac's Sergio Perez at the chicane at Suzuka in Japanese Grand Prix first practiceGetty Images

    Williams' Alex Albon had a torrid session, running off track and hitting the wall at Degner Two, traditionally one of the track's most demanding corners, midway through the session, before a spin after colliding with Cadillac's Sergio Perez, who appeared not to see Albon on the inside as the British-born Thai dived down the inside at the chicane.

    The two Aston Martins brought up the tail of the field on a weekend on which engine partner Honda want to show improvement on its home track after a dire start to the season.

  6. Listen to live commentary

    BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Good morning again to Jennie Gow, Harry Benjamin, British racing driver Abbie Eaton and F1 correspondent Andrew Benson.

    To tune in to commentary, click the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page, ask your smart speaker to "play BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra" or if you're heading out the door to go to work, you can listen via the BBC Sounds app.

  7. Better start for McLaren

    Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc out on trackGetty Images

    World champion Lando Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri had to watch the Chinese Grand Prix from the sidelines two weeks ago after separate battery issues forced both drivers to retire before lights out.

    Piastri is yet to complete a racing lap this season, so finishing just 0.199 seconds off the Mercedes was a bright start for the Australian. Norris finished one place higher than Piastri in third, 0.132secs off the pace of George Russell.

    The two Ferraris were fifth and sixth fastest in FP1, this time Charles Leclerc finishing above his seven-time world champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

  8. Russell and Antonelli battle for top spot

    Kimi AntonelliGetty Images

    Kimi Antonelli had a Chinese Grand Prix to remember last time out when he became the youngest polesitter in F1 history and the second youngest grand prix winner with his victory in Shanghai.

    Whether the 19-year-old can secure back-to-back wins, we'll find out on Sunday. But the signs are positive that he can push team-mate George Russell once again. Briton Russell topped first practice in Japan with Antonelli just 0.026 seconds behind.

  9. Welcome back

    Lorraine McKenna
    BBC Sport Journalist

    Hello again, folks. One practice session is in the books at Suzuka and Mercedes were one and two on the timesheets, with George Russell slightly quicker than Italian team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

    A few drivers struggled on the famous Japanese circuit in the new 2026 car and the change in wind direction also caught some by surprise.

    After sitting out of the opening hour of practice, Fernando Alonso, who welcomed his first child this week, will be back in the Aston Martin for FP2.

  10. Report: Russell leads Mercedes one-two in Suzuka practice

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent at Suzuka

    George RussellGetty Images

    George Russell led team-mate Kimi Antonelli to a Mercedes one-two ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris in first practice at the Japanese Grand Prix.

    Russell pipped Antonelli, who took his maiden win at the last race in China, by just 0.026 seconds after the two drivers swapped fastest times in the middle of the session.

    World champion Norris was 0.132secs behind Russell in his McLaren.

    Piastri was 0.199secs adrift, an encouraging start to the weekend for the Australian and McLaren, who have had a difficult first two grands prix.

    Apart from the Shanghai sprint, Piastri has not completed a racing lap in 2026, and in China both McLarens retired with separate battery issues before the start.

    The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were fifth and sixth fastest.

    Read the full report here

  11. Back for FP2 build-up at 05:45 GMT

    The "dangerous" Mercedes are one and two on the timesheets again so can anyone else challenge the Silver Arrows this weekend? Or are we set for George Russell versus Kimi Antonelli part two at Suzuka?

    Time for us to park the practice bus here, so if you fancy going for a nap before the second session starts, go for it.

    We'll be back at 05:45 GMT, with FP2 going green at 06:00.

    See you shortly!

  12. Abbie Eaton
    British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    The McLarens have put some laps on the board. Oscar will be feeling relieved to get some running in the car, run through some of the stuff he's done in the simulator and work out what the car needs to extract that energy.

    It's about what we'd expect in terms of Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari all in the mix.

  13. And the rest

    11. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

    12. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

    13. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

    14. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

    15. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

    16. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

    17. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

    18. Alex Albon (Williams)

    19. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)

    20. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

    21. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

    22. Jak Crawford (Aston Martin)

  14. Team radio - Hadjar to Red Bull

    "The Mercedes is so dangerous."

  15. Top 10

    1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 1:31.66

    2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.026

    3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.132

    4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.199

    5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.289

    6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.374

    7. Max Veratappen (Red Bull) +0.791

    8. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +0.863

    9. Esteban Ocon (Haas) +0.935

    10. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +0.999

  16. Abbie Eaton
    British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    There's going to be a lot of sim work in the next five weeks. It's going to be a very busy period and potentially when we get to Miami we might see some big differences in the cars.

  17. chequered flag

    Chequered flag

    First practice is complete in Japan and George Russell is quickest from Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli with a 1:31.66. There's not much between the two, though, with the Italian teenager just 0.026 seconds behind.

    World champion Lando Norris is third, McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri is fourth and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc is fifth.

  18. Team radio - Perez to Cadillac

    "Oh my God. I had no idea that the Williams was next to us. He crashed into me."

  19. There was a bit of debris on track but that was cleared quickly so no need for a stoppage. Alex Albon tried to down the inside of Sergio Perez but the Cadillac man was unaware there was any threat from behind.

  20. Team radio - Albon to Williams

    "I don't know if he saw me."