“Japan Award”: Verstappen was fastest in both rounds of free practice
Dutch Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, the world champion, recorded the fastest time in the first and second free practice rounds of the Japanese Grand Prix, the fourth episode of the Formula 1 World Championship, on Friday, while Logan Sargent, the Williams driver, stumbled. His car collided with a tire barrier at Suzuka Circuit.
Verstappen is seeking to return to the path of victories after his first withdrawal from a race since 2022 in the previous round in Australia two weeks ago.
Today, Verstappen scored one minute and 30.056 seconds in the first round, which was held in dry conditions, beating his Mexican teammate Sergio Perez by 0.181 seconds.
Verstappen, the champion of the past three seasons, scored 19 victories in the 2023 season, which is a record, including a well-deserved victory in the Japanese race.
Verstappen said: “It was a good start for us… but it is clear that the competition is a little stronger than last year.”
The rain began to fall before the second round, while the teams preferred to have their cars indoors for most of the round to preserve the tires.
British Lewis Hamilton, a Mercedes driver and former world champion seven times, finished fifth in the first round, and tried his luck in the second round before deciding to stop due to rain.
Japanese Yuki Tsunoda and his Australian RB teammate Daniel Ricciardo provided some entertainment for the crowd in the stands when they recorded the first two times in the round, but the difference between them and Verstappen’s time in the first round was more than 10 seconds.
Australian Oscar Piastri, a McLaren driver, recorded one minute and 34.725 seconds in a late time using soft tires, which is the fastest time among the nine drivers who completed their laps in the last two minutes of the round.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz, a Ferrari driver and Australian race champion in the last round, occupied third place in the first round, 0.213 seconds behind Verstappen, while his teammate Charles Leclerc, coming from Monaco, ranked sixth, half a second behind first place.
Mercedes drivers, Briton George Russell and Hamilton, ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.
Logan Sargent survived the accident safely (Getty)
Due to Sargent’s accident, the first round was stopped for a long time, while Williams technicians raced against time to prepare the car for Sunday’s race.
Sargent (23 years old) was unable to participate in the Australian race after his more experienced teammate, Alex Albon, had an accident during testing and his car was damaged.
The team made some repairs to the car, but it arrived in Japan without a spare chassis, so Sargent could miss the race if the team is not able to fully prepare the car before next Sunday’s race.
“Sorry,” Sargent, an American, said over his team’s communications after his car swerved on a curve, then added: “I’m fine.”
2024-04-05 14:45:25
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