Full Results FP1 Japan | Verstappen dominates, Mercedes remain quiet

Max Verstappen was at the top of the leaderboard throughout the first free practice session. In fact, he was often a full second ahead of his rivals. In the end, he finished six-tenths faster than Carlos Sainz.

Ferrari took their time to get into the session, but once they strapped on the red-walled soft tyres to their car with their newly upgraded floor, they catapulted themselves up the leaderboard, with Sainz and Leclerc both finding the pace to finish P2 and P4, respectively. Splitting the two Prancing Horses was the Papaya-coloured McLaren of Lando Norris, as the young Brit will be looking to secure back-to-back podiums. Home favourite Yuki Tsunoda took a fantastic P5, delighting the home fans at Suzuka.

On the other hand, the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell struggled to find any pace to really challenge Red Bull and Ferrari, but they did not run the soft tyres at any part of the session.