Everything that happened in first Japanese GP F1 practice

Fernando Alonso was fastest for Alpine in a very wet first Japanese Grand Prix practice session, Formula 1’s first Suzuka track action since 2019.

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Key moments

– Rain all day means limited initial running
– Brief window suitable for intermediate tyre
– Alonso goes quickest just as rain worsens again
– Schumacher crashes after chequered flag

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A consistently damp day at Suzuka meant little expectation of much running in first practice.

But a decent number of drivers began venturing out on the rarely-seen full wet tyre in the first half of the session, as rain eased compared to earlier in the morning.

Drivers were soon calling for intermediates, with world champion Max Verstappen first to give those a go and instantly going quickest.

Intermediate tyre running had barely begun before the rain returned with a vengeance, though.

All 20 drivers managed to get an inter time in during that brief window of slightly better weather, with Alonso putting his Alpine quickest on a 1m42.248s just before the track conditions got back to a point where full wets were needed.

That effectively prompted an early end to the session, bar a series of last-minute runs on wets in the final minutes. One of these runs, for Schumacher, ended with a big hit against the wall already after the chequered flag, with the German getting out unhurt but his VF-17 sustaining serious damage.

Schumacher slides off at the end of the session

He was on his way back to the pit lane but crashed into the barriers #JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/y8p1xfhcay

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 7, 2022

The Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were second and third, ahead of Esteban Ocon in the second Alpine, Kevin Magnussen’s Haas and Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Leclerc had some glorious slides as the rain returned, and also a trip through the gravel.

Leclerc goes off at Spoon as conditions become more and more treacherous 🌧️#JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/o7cplkPML0

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 7, 2022

Daniel Ricciardo (at the chicane) and Nicholas Latifi (at the hairpin) also had minor off-track moments.

George Russell had a delayed start to the session as Mercedes attended to an oil leak. But his car was ready just in time for him to do four laps as intermediates, just as the weather worsened late on.

Practice two will be 90 minutes rather than 60 today as it is scheduled to include trial running of Pirelli’s 2023 F1 tyres.

But with the weather forecast poor for the whole day, that Pirelli test is likely to be postponed until the Mexican GP later this month.

Teams will still get the extra half-hour of track time today, though, regardless of whether the 2023 tyre running happens.

Practice 1 Results