(Suzuka) Back to business for Max Verstappen: less than a week after giving up his first place on the podium at the end of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, the undisputed leader of the championship took the lead again on Friday, at the Result of the first tests of the Japanese GP run at Suzuka.
In stifling heat, the Dutchman dominated the first two practice sessions of the Japanese round, the 16th meeting of the season, finishing each time in front of a Ferrari: that of Carlos Sainz in the morning, then that of Charles Leclerc later in the day.
“The car was nice to drive again, we had a solid day on the short runs and the long runs,” assured Verstappen. The Singapore GP already seems like a distant memory for the two-time reigning champion and his Red Bull team.
On the Marina Bay track, the Austrian team had a first theoretical chance to win its second manufacturer’s title in a row. But to achieve this, its drivers had to finish in the first two places in the GP.
In vain. After qualifying to forget, Max Verstappen finished 5th, his Mexican teammate Sergio Pérez 8th, ending the record series of ten victories in a row for the first and 15 for Red Bull. It was Carlos Sainz who won on the Singaporean circuit.
Sunday, Red Bull (597 points) has a new match point to win the sixth title in its history. To get there, she must be ahead of Mercedes (289 pts) by at least one point at the finish.
On Friday, Pérez finished an anonymous 8th place, behind the Mercedes of George Russell, 5th. But ahead of that of Lewis Hamilton, only 14th.
“I lacked confidence in the car, which contributed to our difficulties,” explained the seven-time British world champion.
“It was difficult to find the right balance […], the tires were overheating and we found ourselves quite far behind on the timesheet,” he regretted.
Until the Singapore GP, “Mad Max” had won 12 of the 14 rounds this season. However, his third world title will not be this weekend.
Last year, the Dutchman was crowned at Suzuka in difficult conditions, then incredible with the title being made official in total confusion after a penalty inflicted on Leclerc.
On the legendary Suzuka track, if Ferrari currently appears to be Red Bull’s main rival behind, McLaren also seems to have a chance to play.
Briton Lando Norris took the 3rd best time at the end of each practice session, even though he complained of a car that was difficult to drive, due to a lack of grip.
His teammate Oscar Piastri, further back, finished the day 8th. The Australian took to the track at the wheel of an improved McLaren, improvements from which Norris had benefited from the Singapore GP where he finished 2nd.
At the very end of the day, the second practice session was cut short by an exit from the track by Pierre Gasly (Alpine) which caused the deployment of a red flag signifying the interruption – then the end of practice – while there were less than three minutes left.
The Frenchman hit a wall at low speed, damaging the left front of his car. If he recognizes that on the evening of the first tests, “there is still work to be done”, the Norman also tries to reassure himself: “the peloton is extremely tight, with one or two tenths of a second separating many cars, then the smallest detail will count tomorrow.” Less than two tenths effectively separated the 8th from the 14th on Friday evening.