Japanese GP: Norris Fastest in Practice, Tsunoda Shines for Red Bull

Lando Norris spearheaded the first practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix for McLaren, while Yuki Tsunoda marked his Red Bull debut with a promising performance.

Shortly after an off-track moment due to handling issues with his MCL39, Norris clocked a lap time of 1:28.549s, outpacing Mercedes` George Russell by 0.163 seconds.

Despite his leading time, the current Drivers` Championship leader expressed frustration over the team radio, citing tyre degradation during longer runs. His McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, finished 15th after mistakes on his fast lap attempts.

Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton secured third and fourth positions, respectively, followed by Max Verstappen in fifth. Verstappen was just over a tenth of a second ahead of his new teammate Tsunoda, who finished sixth.

Tsunoda`s move to Red Bull from their junior team, Racing Bulls, comes just two races into the season. This promotion occurred a little over three months after Red Bull had initially chosen Liam Lawson as Verstappen`s teammate for the 2025 season.

Being only a tenth of a second behind the reigning world champion is an encouraging start for Tsunoda at his home race, although a more significant gap appeared during the later long runs in the session.

At the end of the session, Tsunoda commented over team radio, “I found the car interesting on the track. But it`s ok. Good session.”

Lawson finished 13th upon his return to Racing Bulls, where he had previously participated in 11 Grands Prix before his brief stint with Red Bull. He was outpaced by his teammate Isack Hadjar, who continued his strong start as a rookie by finishing eighth.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports F1 that it was a positive start for Yuki, noting his familiarity with the Suzuka circuit and clear feedback. He emphasized it was just the beginning of Tsunoda`s journey with the team.

Fernando Alonso in seventh for Aston Martin, and Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli in ninth, could not match Russell`s pace.

Carlos Sainz, adapting to his new Williams car after moving from Ferrari, outperformed teammate Alex Albon to take 10th place.

Japanese fans were also treated to Ryo Hirakawa driving for Alpine in place of Jack Doohan, fulfilling Alpine`s first mandatory young driver practice session of the season.

McLaren`s Pace Despite Initial Struggles

McLaren arrived in Japan as strong contenders, with Norris and Piastri each having secured a win in the first two races. However, the reigning constructors` champions seemed less comfortable at the start of Friday practice.

Norris struggled with car control through Turns 16 and 17, eventually running into the gravel. Despite these issues, his ability to set the fastest time without an ideal setup is a warning sign to their rivals.

Russell appeared to be the main challenger to McLaren in the first practice, showing consistent speed and managing tyre degradation well in his longer runs.

Ferrari, aiming to recover from a double disqualification in the previous race, were over half a second behind Norris, still seemingly working on setup issues from the start of the season.

While Tsunoda`s performance was promising, Verstappen was also more than half a second slower than Norris, reporting unusual flexing on his car, suggesting a potentially challenging weekend to repeat his dominant victory at Suzuka from last year.

Japanese GP Practice One Timesheet