Summary

  • George Russell fastest in Japanese Grand Prix first practice

  • Second practice at Suzuka from 06:00 GMT

  • Select audio icon tab 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. 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

  2. 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!

  3. 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.

  4. 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)

  5. Team radio - Hadjar to Red Bull

    "The Mercedes is so dangerous."

  6. 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

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. Team radio - Perez to Cadillac

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

  10. 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.

  11. Team radio - Albon to Williams

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

  12. Albon and Perez collide

    Alex Albon and Sergio Perez are out on track clocking their final laps of the session but the two drivers end up colliding at the chicane, with Albon's Williams coming off worse. Perez tells his Cadillac pit wall he didn't see Albon, and now the incident is going to be investigated after the session.

  13. Verstappen in seventh

    Oscar Piastri is crossing his fingers he can actually start a race this weekend after missing out on the two opening grands prix of the season. The Australian has got points on the board after scoring in the sprint event and now he bumps Lewis Hamilton down the order to fourth with a time of 1:31.865 on the soft compound.

    Max Verstappen, meanwhile, has had quite an eventful time in Japan already, kicking out a journalist from his news conference yesterday. The Dutchman retired from the Chinese Grand Prix last time out and was unhappy with his car all weekend.

    After Shanghai he said Red Bull are nowhere near the frontrunners in 2026 and that looks to be the case at Suzuka, as the four-time world champion - and four-time consecutive winner here - is seventh on the timesheets.

    Red Bull's Max Verstappen during Japanese Grand Prix first practice, with a rollercoaster in the backgroundGetty Images

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

    Suzuka's got a mixture of everything. You've got some really technical corners through the Esses and then you've got the really challenging, flat-out corners at the back at the circuit. Throw the new regulations into the mix and you've got a million things to juggle. You're never disappointed to drive around Suzuka.

  15. Harry Benjamin
    BBC F1 Commentator on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Max Verstappen is not enjoying Formula 1 right now. He was having a great time out at the Nurburgring. Although he was ultimately disqualified, I think he got more enjoyment out of that than F1 this season.

  16. Hamilton goes P3

    Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson is not impressed with the driving style of Franco Colapinto in the Alpine. The New Zealander is on the phone to his engineer to say this only first practice, what is Colapinto doing?

    Over at Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton has been in the garage for a while but the seven-time world champion is sent out on the softs and goes third quickest with a time 0.374 seconds off George Russell's top marker.

  17. Team radio - Russell to Mercedes

    "What's this idiot doing? Who was that? It must be Perez, obviously"

  18. George Russell is fastest from Kimi Antonelli but he's slowed down by some traffic at Suzuka. The Mercedes man calls his pit wall to ask who the "idiot" was who blocked him and he doesn't sound too surprised when he's told it was Sergio Perez in the Cadillac.

  19. What are the Japanese GP tyres?

    Fans arrive at Suzuka dressed as MarioGetty Images

    The demands of the 5.807km Suzuka circuit need to tyres that are a litle bit tougher than the previous two races, so Pierelli has brought along the C1 as the hard, the C2 as the medium and the C3 as the soft. The green intermediates and blue full wets are also available, should the weather take a turn for the worse.

    The track was resurfaced before the race last year, from the exit of the first chicane to the end of the first sector. Pirelli says with the work has continued this year with the complete of the remaining two sectors up to Turn 17. "The asphalt is therefore expected to be smooth and still dirty, offering relatively low grip," the Italian manufacturer added.

  20. Norris on medium tyres

    Lando Norris was late to the party in first practice, so the world champion is continuing with his medium tyre run and sits sixth on the timesheets.

    Williams and their overweight car are towards the bottom of the board, with Alex Albon running across the gravel on a set of the hard rubber.