A frenetic Friday in Suzuka has set the stage for a fascinating qualifying session at the Japanese Grand Prix.
At the moment, McLaren remain the class of the field. Lando Norris topped the timing sheets in FP1 while his teammate Oscar Piastri was on top in FP2, with Norris right behind him.
With two wins in two grands prix, McLaren enter the week leading the way in the Constructors’ Championship race. But the lap times count for real on Saturday.
Here are five burning questions ahead of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.
A surprise in the works from VCARB?
Liam Lawson was unceremoniously demoted from Red Bull to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
But is the young driver set to deliver a shocker in Suzuka, along with new teammate Isack Hadjar?
Hadjar finished in P8 during Friday’s first practice session, with Lawson down in P13. But during the chaotic FP2 — which saw multiple red flags — both drivers finished inside the top five. Lawson finished with the fifth-fastest time, while Hadjar was up in P3.
“But yeah, all in all a good day,” said Lawson after Friday’s two sessions. “Obviously tomorrow’s the more important one.”
His new teammate was also overwhelmingly positive.
“It’s definitely a good Friday,” said Hadjar. “Now we’re getting used to it; Melbourne and China was really strong as well. We know what to work on and I think we’re on a good way for a good result tomorrow.”
Could VCARB, and their newest driver, deliver a shocker in qualifying?
That would make for quite the redemption story for Lawson.
How will Yuki Tsunoda fare in his first Red Bull qualifying session?
Lawson’s demotion to VCARB opened the door for Yuki Tsunoda to finally realize the promotion to Red Bull that he dreamed of for years.
Early returns have been very positive. While his FP2 was interrupted by the chaos around Suzuka on Friday, including Jack Doohan’s “heavy” crash in Turn 1, Tsunoda was just over one-tenth behind Max Verstappen in FP1.
According to the Red Bull driver, that is his target: To be as close to Verstappen as possible.
While the defending Drivers’ Champion expressed some frustration again on Friday with the RB21, going as far as to say he was lacking “confidence,” Tsunoda’s strong start to the season, and his Red Bull tenure, could see him fare well during qualifying.
Can Jack Doohan bounce back after his “heavy” shunt in FP2?
If you ever wondered what it would look like if a driver kept the DRS open into a turn, you now have your answer:
Coming out of the long straight and into Turn 1, Doohan failed to close the DRS flap on his A525 in time, and went for a scary ride into the barrier. Following the session the driver reported that he was “okay,” and Team Principal Oliver Oakes indicated that the incident was a result of “a misjudgement of not closing the DRS into Turn 1.”
The good news is that Doohan is okay, and hopefully, he can put in a good performance on Saturday in both FP3 and qualifying. But this incident does call into question how Alpine has handled this week. Under the new rules for this season, each team is required to have four rookie driver FP1 sessions, two for each car.
This week Alpine had Ryō Hirakawa, one of their reserve drivers, participate in an FP1 session under that requirement. Given that the Japanese Grand Prix is a home race for Hirakawa, having him drive at Suzuka certainly is understandable.
But with Doohan entering just his fourth F1 Grand Prix weekend, and given the complexities of the Suzuka International Racing Circuit, would it not have made more sense to have Hirakawa drive in Pierre Gasly’s car? Tasking Doohan with just two practice sessions to get up to speed seems like it is asking too much of the young driver.
We will see how he bounces back on Saturday.
Can you count out Max Verstappen?
He might lack confidence in the RB21 at the moment. He has struggled to “get the lap down” in Japan. This has not been the start to the season that he has wanted.
But if there is anyone in the field who can take a car they lack confidence in and still put it on pole, it is Max Verstappen.
Can Mercedes put the pressure on McLaren?
With two wins in two races, McLaren is off to a strong start. That trend seems like it will continue in Suzuka, as Lando Norris topped the timing sheets in FP1, and Oscar Piastri came out on top in FP2 with Norris just behind him.
But if there is a driver who seems in the best position to challenge that pair at the moment, it is George Russell.
Russell has a pair of podiums this season, as he finished third at both the Australian Grand Prix and the Chinese Grand Prix. Thanks to those results, and the strong start to his F1 career from young Kimi Antonelli, the Silver Arrows are currently second in the Constructors’ Championship, 21 points behind McLaren.
Norris pointed to Russell and Mercedes when speaking with the media on Friday.
“George was very quick this morning, just as quick as us,” said Norris. “So I think Mercedes are in a good place.
“I’m sure Mercedes at least and definitely George from today’s showings will be challenging us a bit tomorrow.”
McLaren locked out the front row for the Australian Grand Prix, with Norris on pole ahead of Piastri. It was Piastri’s turn in Shanghai as he took pole position, with Russell coming between the two McLarens.
Can Russell take the top spot on Saturday in Japan?
