P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Red Bull looks strong at the Japanese Grand Prix following the first practice session of the weekend.
Max Verstappen led the way in the first practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix, with a time of 1:30.056 in his Red Bull, ahead of his teammate by 0.181 seconds. Carlos Sainz secured the third spot, performing well despite Logan Sargeant’s crash that brought out the red flag. Lewis Hamilton faced engine issues but managed to finish fifth with a fresh power unit. Rain was expected for the second practice, prompting teams like Aston Martin to quickly test setups, although issues with aero rakes emerged in the session. Daniel Ricciardo was absent in FP1, being replaced by junior driver Ayumu Iwasa, while Sargeant returned after his crash in Australia. Overall, it was a challenging but eventful start to the race weekend in Japan.
