Max fifth in first free practice at Suzuka

Published on 04 April 2025 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen has finished the first free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix in fifth place. On the iconic Suzuka International Racing Course, the reigning World Champion completed the entire session on the soft compound tyres. At the end of the hour, Max fell half a second short of the fastest time set by Lando Norris. Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Yuki Tsunoda set the sixth-fastest time in his first outing for the team.

At 11:30 local time, the lights at the end of the pit lane turn green, giving the drivers their first opportunity to get reacquainted with the Suzuka-track. Max heads straight out on the soft tyres, as does his new Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate, Yuki Tsunoda. Sporting a special, white-liveried Red Bull, Tsunoda completes his first laps for the Austrian team on home soil. He’s not the only Japanese driver in action. At Alpine, Ryo Hirakawa has taken place behind the wheel for FP1, filling in for Jack Doohan. Max shows strong pace early on, immediately going quickest on the softs with a 1:29.6, half a second faster than the rest of the field running medium tyres. Only George Russell in the Mercedes comes close. The Brit sets the fastest time, just 74 thousandths quicker, after the first fifteen minutes.

For his second run, Max again opts for the soft compound but isn’t entirely happy with the car. “It’s really weird, the car is flexing a lot,” he reports over team radio. Despite that, the lap times continue to improve. Max clocks a 1:29.0, putting him in P3 with twenty minutes remaining. Russell maintains the top spot with a 1:28.7 on softs, while Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) slots into P2 with a competitive time of his own. Tsunoda’s first session in Red Bull colours is going well, he is just a tenth behind Max.

In the final stages, Lando Norris (McLaren) joins the top and clocks a 1:28.5, the fastest time of the session. With most teams shifting focus to longer runs, lap times remain mostly unchanged. The session continues smoothly with only minor lock-ups and no significant incidents.

At the chequered flag, Norris finishes on top, ahead of Russell and Leclerc. Max ends the session in fifth, just over half a second down on the McLaren driver.

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Results first free practice Japan: