@ValtteriBottas leads @MercedesAMGF1 1-2 in #JapaneseGP FP1. #F1

Valtteri Bottas set the morning pace in Free Practice 1 as Mercedes lead a dominating one-two at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Japan.

Bottas posted a 1:28.731 to out-pace his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by 0.076 seconds with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel taking third and 0.989 seconds adrift of the Finn’s benchmark.

Mercedes began the hour and a half long session running seven laps on the C2 yellow-branded medium compounds as most of the teams made the most of the dry conditions available to them.

Saturday’s Free Practice Three and Qualifying sessions have been cancelled as pre-cautionary measure due to the approaching Super Typhoon Hagibis, which you can read more about below. This has left all teams with only Friday’s practice sessions to prepare, with FP2 set to be threatened by rain.

Hamilton set the initial pace on his first run using mediums, setting a 1:30.832, although at the halfway point Bottas jumped to the front with a 1:30.524.

In the second half of opening practice, all teams switched to the C3 softer rubber with Ferrari the first outfit to do so, which allowed Vettel to momentarily hold top spot, but his 1:29.720 was quickly dashed by both Mercedes drivers.

Hamilton moved ahead of Vettel with a 1:28.807 before Bottas went even quicker, posting a 1:28.731.

No more improvements left the Silver Arrows pairing well clear of it’s rivals as only Vettel managed to be with a second behind on his effort.

The other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was fourth quickest and under two tenths off of team-mate Vettel and a similar gap to Red Bull’s fifth-placed Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman’s early pace was not strong as expected for Red Bull’s engine supplier Honda’s home Grand Prix with team-mate Alexander Albon ending the morning session in sixth.

The gap between them and the midfield was not so much as McLaren’s Carlos Sainz finished best of the rest in seventh and in-front of Racing Point’s Sergio Perez who took eighth.

Lance Stroll followed his Racing Point team-mate in ninth with McLaren’s Lando Norris rounding out the top ten in the other Renault-powered MCL34.

Haas F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean ended the morning 11th and ahead of Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen who finished 12th and Renault duo Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo who were 13th and 14th respectively.

Both Renault entries were completing aero assessments during the session.

The other Haas F1 Team VF-19 of Kevin Magnussen was 15th and in-front of Toro Rosso pairing Daniil Kvyat and stand-in Naoki Yamamoto who came 16th and 17th respectively.

Reigning Super Formula and Super GT Series Champion Yamamoto  was only 0.1 seconds off of Kvyat with the Japanese driver clocking up 30 laps, the most of the field, on his maiden Formula 1 weekend appearance at his home Grand Prix. Pierre Gasly returns to the seat of his STR14 racer in Free Practice Two.

The two ROKiT Williams Racing FW42’s of George Russell and Robert Kubica were 18th and 19th with Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi brought up the rear due to a hydraulics issue as the Italian was forced to miss the majority of the session and only completed four laps.

You can see the full Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix 2019 Free Practice 1 Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2019/races/1016/japan/practice-1.html

Typhoon Hagibis Update: Saturday running cancelled, revised schedule for Sunday

The weather has been the main point of concern at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, and on Friday morning it was confirmed that Saturday’s running will be cancelled due to the approaching Super Typhoon Hagibis, which is on course to pass Suzuka.

As a result, qualifying will be moved to 10:00 am Sunday morning (11:30 am Adelaide time), when the weather is set to have cleared the Suzuka International Racing Course, with the Grand Prix taking place at 2:10 pm (3:40 pm Adelaide time) as scheduled. Saturday’s Free Practice Three session has been abandoned.

Revised Schedule

As a result of the predicted impact of Typhoon Hagibis on the 2019 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, Mobilityland and the Japanese Automobile Federation (JAF) have decided to cancel all activities scheduled to take place on Saturday, 12 October. The FIA and Formula 1 support this decision in the interests of safety for the spectators, competitors, and everyone at the Suzuka Circuit.

“As a result, below is the updated schedule based on the current weather predictions:

Saturday, 12 October
No activity – the circuit will be closed to the public and the media

Sunday, 13 October

Note that this timetable is subject to change, and all stakeholders will continue to monitor the meteorological situation and issue any updates as necessary.” Credit to the FIA. https://www.fia.com/news/2019-fia-formula-1-japanese-grand-prix-updated-statement-typhoon-hagibis

Missed out on this weekend’s preview? You can catch up on it right here at the link: #Formula1 Japanese Grand Prix 2019 Preview – #F1 #JapaneseGP