Norris leads Japanese GP FP1, Tsunoda impresses in Red Bull debut

Lando Norris topped the time sheets in Free Practice 1 (FP1) at the Japanese Grand Prix, overcoming a challenging start to the session — particularly through the Casio Triangle — to finish fastest with a time of 1:28.549 on soft tires.

The British McLaren driver led George Russell by 0.163 seconds, who had previously set the benchmark on both medium and soft tire runs.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton claimed third and fourth spots respectively, with Hamilton narrowly edging out Max Verstappen by just 0.014 seconds. Verstappen, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the car’s flexibility in sector two, which appeared to hinder his performance.

One of the biggest stories of the session was Yuki Tsunoda, who made his debut with Red Bull Racing and delivered an impressive performance — finishing just 0.107 seconds behind Verstappen.

“Found the car interesting,” said Tsunoda via team radio, “but overall it was a good session.”

Positions 7 to 10 were filled by:

• Fernando Alonso

• Isack Hadjar

• Andrea Kimi Antonelli

• Carlos Sainz

Meanwhile, Alpine reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa made a solid showing in 12th place, finishing just 0.845 seconds off the pace in his maiden session with the A525 car.