Practice 1 Report - Awesome

Prior to the Japan Grand Prix Nico Rosberg predicted that his Mercedes would ‘be awesome‘Ï around the Suzuka track. It certainly was in Free Practice 1 as Rosberg posted the fastest lap time just ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes duo was a full half second quicker than the third-placed Fernando Alonso and Ferrari.

The ambient temperature at the start of the session was degrees 81 Fahrenheit (27 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 88 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Centigrade.)

Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) was the first out on the daunting 3.608‘mile (5.807-km) 18‘turn track.

The Friday morning reserve driver line-up was as follows: Roberto Merhi drove the Caterham in place of Kamui Kobayashi. And Max Verstappen, who had just turned 17 on September 30, made history by becoming the youngest ever driver to take part in an official Formula 1 race weekend when he drove the Toro Rosso in place of Jean-Eric Vergne.

Will Stevens was supposed to drive the Marussia but that deal fell through at the last minute because the paperwork could not be processed in time.

The drivers were using Pirelli‘s hard compound slicks with the orange sidewalls. The other tire option was the medium compound with the white sidewalls.

‘Suzuka is a real drivers‘ circuit, and because of that it is a considerable challenge for the tires, with some of the biggest lateral energy loads of the year,‘Ï said Paul Hembery, Pirelli‘s motorsport director. ‘As a result, it would probably be realistic to look at between two to three pit stops, with tire management forming a key part of the race.

‘However, we‘ll obviously know more about that after free practice. It‘s a track where several forces are often acting on the tire at once, and the increased torque but decreased downforce of this year‘s cars will only place more demands on mechanical grip. If a tire can perform well in Suzuka, it can perform well almost everywhere.‘Ï

17 minutes into the session, Merhi posted the first lap time: 1:44.564. But Valtteri Bottas beat that with a 1:37.436 in his Williams.

19 minutes into the session, Verstappen completed his first ever flying lap on an F1 weekend as he turned a 1:43.824. Merhi, meanwhile, spun and continued at Turn 14.

21 minutes into the session, Lewis Hamilton went ahead with a 1:36.745 only to be topped by his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg who set a 1:36.437. Hamilton then clocked a 1:36.550 as Bottas improved to a 1:37.029. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) was fourth with a 1:37.070

25 minutes into the session, all 22 drivers were out on the Suzuka circuit.

27 minutes into the session, Rosberg improved to a 1:36.244 as Hamilton slid off the track at Turn 9.

At the half hour mark, the top 10 were: Rosberg, Hamilton, Bottas, Alonso, Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso), Jenson Button (McLaren), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), Felipe Massa (Williams), Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg (Force India.)

Verstappen was 13th and had completed 8 laps.

There was a lull with all the cars in the garages as the teams prepared for the next series of laps.

42 minutes into the session, Vettel broke the silence as he headed out in his Red Bull. There was limited action on track for a while, but Vettel did move up to eighth place.

With 40 minutes remaining in the session, Vettel took sixth place while Raikkonen was now fifth.

With 38 minutes remaining in the session, Ricciardo grabbed sixth and pushed Vettel to seventh. And Rosberg improved to a 1:35.461 to stay ahead of Hamilton who now had a 1:35.612 in his pocket.

With 34 minutes remaining in the session, Alonso was on track and going fast as he set a 1:36.037 for third place.

At the one hour mark the top six were: Rosberg, Hamilton, Alonso, Bottas, Raikkonen and Ricciardo. Verstappen was 12th while his teammate Kvyat was ninth.

With 29 minutes remaining in the session, Kevin Magnussen slotted his McLaren into sixth place.

With the track surface getting hotter and the tires wearing out, lap times for most drivers were not going to improve in the final third of FP1. Furthermore, they were now doing long runs with heavy fuel loads.

It was getting slippery out there. Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Ricciardo and Verstappen slid off at Turn 9, and Magnussen and Romain Grosjean did the same at Turn 13.

With 7 minutes remaining in the session, Verstappen pulled off at Turn 6 with smoking coming from the back of his car. He had just radioed that his engine had lost power.

The top 10 at the end of FP1 were: Rosberg, Hamilton, Alonso, Bottas, Raikkonen, Magnussen, Ricciardo, Button, Vettel and Kvyat.

Verstappen ended up 12th with a time of 1:38.157, while Kvyat in the other Toro Rosso had a best time of 1:37.714.