Mercedes 1-2 in second Friday F1 practice at Suzuka

George Russell led a Mercedes 1-2 in a second wet Friday practice session of F1’s Japanese Grand Prix weekend at Suzuka.

Key moments:

> Mercedes 1-2, Red Bull 3-4

> Schumacher absent after FP1 crash

> Offs for Leclerc and Perez

The session was due to feature test runs for prototype Pirelli slick rubber, and was extended from the usual 60 minutes to 90 for that purpose, but the track was never anywhere dry enough for that to be feasible.

Russell was the first driver to take a punt on intermediates around the half-hour mark, with the wets having been the tyre of choice before that, and immediately took the top spot from team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Both Hamilton and champion-elect Max Verstappen then took turns out front, but Russell overhauled the pair in the end, his 1m41.935s leaving him two tenths clear of Hamilton and eight tenths clear of Verstappen.

All those times were already on the board with 30 minutes left to run, and the rest of the session proved a muted formality as teams seemed reluctant to use up any more rubber.

Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez completed the top four, half a tenth behind the Dutchman, while Kevin Magnussen – the sole Haas representative in the session, with Mick Schumacher sidelined by a chassis change necessitated by his ill-timed crash after the chequered flag in FP1 – bolted on a fresh set of inters late on to move up to fifth.

Carlos Sainz – having led early on on wets – ultimately headed Ferrari’s efforts in sixth, followed by compatriot and FP1 pace-setter Fernando Alonso (Alpine).

Sainz’s squadmate Leclerc was only 11th, suspecting an issue with the front left of his F1-75 and having only narrowly avoided a date with the barrier when he went off at the hairpin Turn 11, just getting his Ferrari stopped and managing to escape the gravel.

Slipping off at Suzuka 😬

Leclerc and Tsunoda hit the gravel but escape and make their way back to the track#JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/FnUD8TfY6e

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 7, 2022

Perez had his less dramatic version of that incident later in the session, while local hero Yuki Tsunoda of the sister AlphaTauri team had a long trip through the gravel exiting Degner 1.

Williams driver Nicholas Latifi had an unusual visit to the access road near the chicane early in the session, one seemingly tied with him reporting a problem with his FW44 – but he shrugged it off to finish 12th.

⚠️ Make A U-Turn ⚠️

Latifi turns in before he reaches the chicane and is forced to turn back#JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/zhpvge1V4X

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 7, 2022

Schumacher aside, it was the two McLarens bottom of the mileage rankings, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo combining for just 20 laps – with Tsunoda alone notching up 27.

Practice 2 Results