Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris from McLaren dominated the timing sheets in the second practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday. The session was heavily affected by four red flags, two of which were caused by fires on the grass beside the track.
Australian driver Piastri, fresh off his victory in the previous race in China, managed to set a fastest lap of 1:28.114. This lap time was achieved between the last two red flag periods, on a day that was sunny and cool at the Suzuka circuit.
Norris, who leads the championship standings, was the quickest in the first practice session and second fastest in the afternoon session. He was approximately four-tenths of a second faster than Isack Hadjar, a French rookie driving for Racing Bulls.
Due to the significant disruptions in the second session, many drivers were unable to complete long runs. This means that teams and drivers have a lot of work to do in the final practice session before Saturday`s qualifying.
The second practice session was barely underway when Jack Doohan of Alpine lost control at the first corner. His car spun off track, went across the gravel trap, and crashed into the barrier.
Doohan, who had been replaced by reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa for the first practice, appeared visibly shaken as he was assisted away from his damaged car.
The session was paused for 22 minutes due to this incident. Only three minutes after the cars returned to the track, another red flag was issued. This time, Fernando Alonso of Spain went off track and his Aston Martin became stuck in the gravel.
Following a seven-minute break, there were only five minutes of racing action before a fire broke out in the grass beside the circuit, causing another red flag.
Piastri then completed his fastest lap, placing him ahead of Norris on the timing sheets. Shortly after, another fire incident in the grass, possibly ignited by sparks from a car, brought the session to an early conclusion.
It was a disappointing session for the spectators, who had earlier cheered for Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda. Tsunoda, driving for Red Bull after being promoted from Racing Bulls in place of Liam Lawson the previous week, had achieved the sixth fastest time in the first session.
Importantly, Tsunoda was only a tenth of a second slower than his teammate, four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who was fifth. This represents a significant improvement in pace compared to Lawson`s performance in the first two races of the season.
Verstappen, from the Netherlands, reported understeer issues in the second session, where he finished with the eighth fastest time, more than half a second off the pace.
Lawson, back with Racing Bulls, managed only the 13th fastest time in the first session but improved to fifth in the second.
Mercedes may find some encouragement from George Russell`s performance. He was leading for much of the first session and ultimately recorded the second fastest lap, ahead of the Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who were third and fourth respectively.
Rupert Caldwell 
Tristan Blackwood