P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Daniel Ricciardo will miss the opening practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix
Daniel Ricciardo will miss the first practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix, as confirmed by Helmut Marko. Red Bull will have an all-Japanese line-up for that session, with Ayumu Iwasa replacing Ricciardo and partnering Yuki Tsunoda. Iwasa will be participating in one of the rookie FP1 sessions mandated by the regulations. This won’t be the first time Red Bull’s sister team has featured a non-full-time Japanese driver at the Suzuka Circuit, as Naoki Yamamoto also had a seat in the 2019 event. According to Marko’s column for Speedweek, the Suzuka circuit is likely to complement Red Bull’s car for the upcoming race in Japan as they utilize Iwasa. Despite this being Iwasa’s FP1 debut in Suzuka, he has previous F1 experience from the end-of-season test in Abu Dhabi last year with AlphaTauri, having been part of the Red Bull junior program since 2021.
