Tag: Japanese GP

Norris not surprised by Verstappen’s Suzuka performance

Lando Norris says nothing Max Verstappen does is a surprise anymore, after being beaten by the Red Bull driver in the Japanese Grand Prix. Verstappen pulled out a stunning qualifying lap on Saturday to take a surprise pole position ahead of the two …

Lando Norris says nothing Max Verstappen does is a surprise anymore, after being beaten by the Red Bull driver in the Japanese Grand Prix.

Verstappen pulled out a stunning qualifying lap on Saturday to take a surprise pole position ahead of the two McLaren drivers, edging out Norris by just 0.012s. That proved crucial, with track position central to Verstappen’s victory on Sunday, and Norris says he has always known and acknowledged what his championship rival is capable of.

“I feel like I get a lot of questions like, ‘Are you surprised by Max?’ when he does a day like [qualifying] or a race like [Sunday],” Norris said. “And I guess people always expect me to say yes, but I don’t think there is a reason to be. I don’t think I ever have.

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“I’ve always had a lot of respect for Max. But there are those moments that when you’re in the car and when you’re driving, you know what is good and what is not. And I think I don’t need anyone to tell me what Max is capable of doing or whether I should think this or that. Of course, I’ve always got my own opinions, but I’m always going to have the respect.

“I know how good he’s been since we shook hands back in 2015 or something, 2014, and I was half the height I am now! So I don’t need people to tell me these things. And people seem shocked when I say I’m not surprised and stuff like that, but I know how good he is. I know what he’s capable of doing.

“So I would say nothing is a surprise anymore. But I still believe that we’re going to have some good races and we can go toe-to-toe and that some days he’ll come out on top and others I will.”

Despite the trio taking a victory apiece so far this year, Norris believes it isn’t just Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri who will be fighting for wins this season, but for now he sees them as the most likely competitors for the drivers’ title given their consistency.

“I still think at times we’re going to see some more competition from the guys behind. Charles was not that much slower [in Suzuka]. There was a bigger gap, but I think his second stint on the hards was just as quick as mine. I didn’t think we dropped him at all. So other cars are quick.

“I think we pushed a lot in the beginning, and it was a race where you just flat out from the off. It was a quick race. But I think we’re the three who are the most consistent at the minute and putting in the times in quali and putting the good races in.

“But George has been quick this weekend. I don’t know, maybe again, they struggled a bit more in Q3 for whatever reason and then therefore in the race. But I’m sure like if you put a George starting on pole, I think he probably still would have won the race.

“So I think anytime someone does that bit of a better job on Saturday for qualifying, they can have those opportunities come their way. But at the minute, I think McLaren, Red Bull, and probably between us three, we’re doing a better job than the rest.”

Verstappen cruises to fourth straight Japanese GP win

Max Verstappen beat Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix after a contentious pit lane incident and a McLaren team orders controversy. Verstappen angled his car towards Norris from pole position on the grid to chop the …

Max Verstappen beat Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix after a contentious pit lane incident and a McLaren team orders controversy.

Verstappen angled his car towards Norris from pole position on the grid to chop the Briton off on the run down to the first turn. Holding the middle of the road to take the racing line, the Dutchman held the first place ahead of an unchanged top 10.

With a one-stop strategy anticipated, the first stint of the race was cagey, with no big gaps opening through the field. It took George Russell to force open the pit window for the frontrunners with a stop from fifth on lap 19, prompting Piastri to cover from third on the following lap.

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The threat of the Australian, who had been shadowing the leaders, prompted both Verstappen and Norris to pit on the same lap. It was an unusual strategic play from the British team with Norris just 1.4s off the lead.

Red Bull serviced Verstappen in 3.3s, but McLaren was faster, changing Norris’s four tires in just 2.3s to send him back into pit lane with around half a car of overlap.

Verstappen, marginally ahead, held his line exiting pit lane as the exit jinked to the left. It had the effect of forcing Norris to choose whether to filter behind him or run onto the grass. The Briton chose the latter, but it was ineffective, dropping him to second anyway. Both drivers vociferously argued their points over team radio, but the stewards decided no investigation was necessary.

The gaps stabilized between the top three, who spent the opening phase of the second stint spread across around 3s. By lap 34, however, Piastri had had enough. He put his foot down to string together some personal-best sectors, and by lap 40 he was within 0.6s of his teammate.

“I think I have the pace to get Max,” Piastri said two laps later, suggesting that he be allowed past Norris to pursue the lead.

Despite the team replying that Norris was going as fast as he could, McLaren left its two cars in position.

Norris strung together some personal-best sectors of his own in reply, but it wasn’t enough to get close to Verstappen. After a pause in his assault, Piastri redoubled his efforts, getting to within 0.5s of the sister car, but around this narrow track even DRS wasn’t enough to pass equal machinery.

With the two McLaren cars battling among themselves, Verstappen as free to set his own pace the checkered flag, taking his first victory of the season by 1.4s.

“It was tough,” he said. “Just pushing very hard, especially on the last set. The two McLarens were pushing me very hard.

“I’m incredibly happy. It started off quite tough this weekend, but we didn’t give up. We kept improving the car, and today it was in its best form.”

Norris locked up into the final chicane on the last lap and cut the corner – “cheeky,” radioed Piastri – but the Briton held the place to finish second ahead of his teammate by just 0.7s.

“I guess I just lost out yesterday,” he said. “Max drove a good race today, no mistakes, and the pace was too similar today [between the cars] to do anything more.”

He described his run-in with Verstappen in pit lane as a racing incident.

“He was still ahead,” he said. “Max is the last guy I expect to give me any space – in a good way and in a racing way.”

Piastri rued starting third at a track that makes overtaking difficult.

“I felt like I had really strong pace and if I had the track position, I could go and get Max, but that’s what happens when you qualify behind, unfortunately,” he said.

“At least I asked the question. I think that was a fair response. I think it was a good race, and that’s how we want to go racing.”

The top six were unchanged from their starting positions, with Charles Leclerc finishing fourth ahead of Mercedes teammates Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who became the youngest driver to lead a Formula 1 race during the pit stop window in the middle of the race and the youngest driver to record a fastest lap.

Lewis Hamilton passed Isack Hadjar for seventh on lap 6, and both drivers held those places to the end of the race, the latter scoring his first points in Formula 1.

Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman finished where they started in ninth and 10th to score the final points of the grand prix.

Fernando Alonso led home local favorite Yuki Tsunoda in his Red Bull Racing debut, the Japanese star gaining two places after a lackluster qualifying session left him down the order.

Pierre Gasly finished 13th ahead of Carlos Sainz, Jack Doohan and Nico Hulkenberg.

Liam Lawson, Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Bortoleto finished 17th to 19th after contra-strategies that had them make their sole stops late in the race, but to no gain.

Lance Stroll finished last and a lap down for Aston Martin as the only driver to make two pit stops.

Norris braced for ‘nerve-racking’ Japanese Grand Prix

Lando Norris expects the Japanese Grand Prix to be “nerve-racking” due to the weather, as he looks to overhaul Max Verstappen to fight for victory. Verstappen took a shock pole position on Saturday with his final lap of qualifying, edging out Norris …

Lando Norris expects the Japanese Grand Prix to be “nerve-racking” due to the weather, as he looks to overhaul Max Verstappen to fight for victory.

Verstappen took a shock pole position on Saturday with his final lap of qualifying, edging out Norris by just 0.012s and Oscar Piastri by 0.044s. The McLaren pair had been quickest up to that point but will start from second and third in a race that is looking increasingly likely to be impacted by rain, something Norris knows could present both challenges and opportunities.

“No one knows what the weather is going to be like tomorrow, so no point trying to think of too many things,” Norris said. “We’ll do our homework tonight. It’s probably going to be a bit of a race like Melbourne, and that was an exciting race for everyone.

“Now I’ve got to try and do some overtakes, so we’ll see. I think the unknown of the weather is going to make it exciting and nerve-racking for everyone, and I’ve got to try to get past the guy on my left [Verstappen], so I’m excited.”

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Norris says the McLaren is much more to his liking at Suzuka than in China where he finished second to Piastri, but acknowledges he didn’t find enough time in Q3 after going wide on his first run, leaving the door open for Verstappen’s lap.

“I went two tenths quicker than the Q2 lap, so not enough, but just a little bit,” he explained. “It’s a track where you just kind of chip away in different areas … and commit a bit more in those high-speed corners.

“But I was pretty happy with my lap, honestly. I tried pushing on a good amount more in Q3 Run 1 and it didn’t work out clearly, so I just had to kind of peg it back a lot. I was happy with the balance and happy with the car at the end.

“The margin is so small – I think it was a hundredth in it – but just not enough for pole.”

There were similar sentiments from Piastri, who felt he missed out on pole position due to a poor first sector, that he couldn’t make up despite being fastest throughout the rest of the lap.

“It wasn’t my best, sector one – I think I lost a little bit of time compared to the first lap of Q3,” Piastri said. “And when the gap’s four hundredths [of a second] from first to third, you think about it quite a bit.

“I’ve been pretty comfortable through qualifying. I think the first lap of Q3 was a good one, the second one just a little bit off the mark in a couple of places.

“I’ve had to dial myself in a bit more this weekend than I did last race and it’s taken a bit longer to get there. But looking at the margins and how it performed, I’ve been pretty happy. Just those little margins – when it’s so tight – make all the difference, clearly.”

Hadjar overcomes seat belt issue to qualify strongly in Japan

Isack Hadjar’s qualifying session at the Japanese Grand Prix was almost derailed by tight seatbelts around his groin, but he bounced back to secure starting spot on the fourth row. The Racing Bulls rookie was complaining about discomfort in the …

Isack Hadjar’s qualifying session at the Japanese Grand Prix was almost derailed by tight seatbelts around his groin, but he bounced back to secure starting spot on the fourth row.

The Racing Bulls rookie was complaining about discomfort in the cockpit during FP3, and he duly radioed early in Q1 to inform his engineer that the issue was still there as qualifying started. Despite the team being unable to rectify it during the first part of the session, Hadjar managed to advance to Q2, and once the problem was resolved he impressed to set the seventh fastest time overall.

“It’s a bit tight around the groin,” Hadjar said of the issue. “I was just playing with the belt, and in Q1, of course, you don’t have time to jump back out, so I had to deal with it and pull through to Q2. But yes, when I came back in the car, with the belt back on, it was all good.”

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While he praised the team’s ability to get him comfortable during the session, Hadjar was still not totally satisfied with his result as he didn’t feel he took full advantage of the car at his disposal.

“This [seat belt fix] definitely helped me a lot as I was able to be fully focused on my driving,” he explained. “Overall, I’m really happy about my performance and lap time until the last chicane, as sadly, I lost one tenth there.

“The car is quite predictable. It’s fast as well, it’s efficient, so I just need to do a good lap and it puts me quite high in the rankings.”

With rain forecast on Sunday, Hadjar could face the second wet race in his first three grands prix, but he says he doesn’t expect conditions to be as difficult as in Melbourne, where he crashed out on the formation lap.

“I don’t think there’s tricky white lines on track,” he noted. “It should be easier. I just know sector one with this tarmac, it’s going to be quite tricky. It’s fast in dry conditions, but in the wet, for sure it’s going to be slippery. But, still, in the wet, I feel like I don’t have much experience. But we’ll see how it goes. I’m really excited.”

Pole ‘very special’ for Verstappen, but race pace remains uncertain

Max Verstappen says his stunning pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix is “a very special one” after unexpectedly beating both McLarens. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were favorites to fight it out for pole at Suzuka, with George Russell an …

Max Verstappen says his stunning pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix is “a very special one” after unexpectedly beating both McLarens.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were favorites to fight it out for pole at Suzuka, with George Russell an outside threat based on the limited free practice running that had been seen. Verstappen had been struggling with his car earlier in the weekend, but his final attempt in Q3 saw him pip Norris to pole by just 0.012s and take his first pole of the season.

“[There was] A lot of happiness when I crossed the line,” Verstappen said. “The whole qualifying we just kept on trying to improve the situation a bit. And then the final lap, honestly, was very good.

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“I had a lot of fun out there, being fully committed everywhere. Some places, not sure if I was actually going to keep it or not. But it was really nice and also great for the team as well.

“It’s difficult [to rank]. I mean, I’ve had some really nice ones also in other places. But I think if you look at how our season started, even during this weekend, I think it’s very unexpected, I would say. And I think that makes it probably a very special one.

“The last lap was just flat out. I mean, around here being on the limit – or maybe even a bit over in places – is incredibly rewarding.”

Despite his starting position, Verstappen acknowledges the McLarens have been quicker in race trim at each of the first two circuits and is unsure if he will have the ability to convert pole into victory.

“We did what we could [in practice]. Now I don’t know,” he admitted. “First, we also have to wait and see what weather we’ll get. And from then onwards, I think it’s very important to just focus on ourselves, do the best we can, execute the race of course in the best way possible. But I don’t know how fast we will be.

“So far this season, we’ve not been able to fight them, but it’s not like we just sit there and accept it. We try to do the very best and we will give it a good fight tomorrow if we can.

“But at the end of the day, it’s a very long championship and you need to keep on scoring points whenever you can in the best way possible, naturally. But at least we’re starting up front and we’ll see where we go.”

Verstappen stops McLaren run to take shock Suzuka pole

Max Verstappen stunned McLaren by snatching pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix with a new track record at the Suzuka Circuit. Verstappen had been more than 0.2s down on Oscar Piastri’s provisional pole time after the first runs of Q3 but …

Max Verstappen stunned McLaren by snatching pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix with a new track record at the Suzuka Circuit.

Verstappen had been more than 0.2s down on Oscar Piastri’s provisional pole time after the first runs of Q3 but strung together an inch-perfect final lap to rocket to top spot.

“That is insane!” his engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, told him, to guttural screams of excitement from the cockpit.

Verstappen’s final lap of 1m26.983s set the record for Suzuka, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s previous benchmark from 2019 by 0.081s.

The Dutchman hadn’t expected to contend for pole and said he needed to put it all on the line to seal the deal.

“The last lap was just flat out,” he said. “Around here being on the limit or just a little bit over in places is incredibly rewarding.

“We tried the best we could to get the best possible balance with the car, but it wasn’t easy. Every session we just kept on making little improvements. I think that’s where we made the difference.”

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Norris was slow with his first lap, leaving him more than half a second behind Piastri, but rebounded strongly with a purple first sector to take second on the grid, missing pole by just 0.012s.

“I’m happy because I feel like I got everything out of the car today,” he said. “[The gap is] tiny. Was there that much [left] in it? Yes, but Max did an amazing lap.”

Piastri lamented that he couldn’t hold provisional pole after a poor first sector on his final attempt despite ending Q3 with purple times in the second and third sectors.

“It felt good through most of qualifying, especially at the start of Q3,” he said. “The lap just didn’t come together as I wanted.

“I think it’s all to play for tomorrow. We’ve got a great car, just a little bit left on the table out there today.”

Charles Leclerc led the way for Ferrari in fourth, the Monegasque driver 0.316s off the pace.

Mercedes slumped to fifth and sixth with George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli after having dreamed of contending for the front row after Friday practice. Russell was 0.335s off the pace, while Antonelli was 0.237s further back.

Isack Hadjar overcame what appeared to be issues with his seat belt to make it all the way to Q3 and qualify an impressive seventh for Racing Bulls – the best Red Bull-backed driver behind Verstappen – ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman to complete the top 10.

Pierre Gasly missed out on Q1 by 0.039s, putting him 11th on the grid ahead of Williams driver Carlos Sainz – but the Spaniard was subsequently penalized three place for impeding Hamilton in Q2 – and Fernando Alonso in the lead Aston Martin.

Liam Lawson will start from a season-high 13th for his first race back with Racing Bulls, notably outqualifying Yuki Tsunoda, who has replaced him at Red Bull Racing this weekend.

Tsunoda failed to improve on his Q1 time, which left him 0.094s slower than Lawson and 0.498s slower than Q3-bound teammate Verstappen.

The Japanese star and his team will rue being sent out for just one flying lap on softs in the second half of Q2 after a grass fire had sent all drivers back to their garages with just over eight minutes on the clock. It was, however, the closest any teammate has got to Verstappen all season and the best qualifying result for the second Red Bull car.

Nico Hulkenberg qualified 16th after being knocked out of Q1 by just 0.016s. He headed teammate Gabriel Bortoleto by a similarly slender 0.052s.

Esteban Ocon will line up 18th for Haas ahead of Jack Doohan, who failed to improve with his final lap, and Lance Stroll, who spoiled his final lap after sliding off the road and into the gravel while powering up towards Dunlop.

Norris completes McLaren practice sweep in Japan as grass fires again disrupt running

Lando Norris pipped Oscar Piastri to top spot in final practice at the Japanese Grand Prix after two red flags for grass fires curtailed track time. Norris left his best lap until late, setting the benchmark at 1m 27.965s on the fifth lap of his run …

Lando Norris pipped Oscar Piastri to top spot in final practice at the Japanese Grand Prix after two red flags for grass fires curtailed track time.

Norris left his best lap until late, setting the benchmark at 1m 27.965s on the fifth lap of his run with the soft-compound tire. The Briton had botched his first attempt to set a time on that same set of tires by running wide at Degner 2, prompting him to abandon the lap.

The championship leader had set a purple first sector before lifting; he left around 0.025s on the table in that sector on his fastest lap later in the session.

Piastri was 0.026s slower than Norris, while George Russell continued to threaten the McLaren monopoly with a fastest lap just 0.112s off top spot.

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While running was significantly smoother in FP3 than in the severely disrupted FP2 of Friday afternoon, two grass fires bookended the hour, suspending the session for around 15 minutes in total.

The second fire appeared at 130R, where Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto put two wheels on the grass and almost put himself at high speed into the fence. The Brazilian saved the snap, but it appeared to trigger the small blaze that forced race control to abandon the session with seven minutes remaining on the clock. It fixed the order with Charles Leclerc in fourth and Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton in sixth, 0.449s and 0.559s off the pace respectively.

They sandwiched Max Verstappen, who remains unhappy about the shifting balance of his Red Bull Racing car.

“It’s all over the shop,” he radioed. “In some corners it’s not bad, but then it becomes undrivable again.”

Alex Albon was seventh for Williams ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull Racing car. The Japanese favorite had been a close match for Verstappen on the hard tire and after their first qualifying runs on softs, when they were separated by just 0.1s, but a late second attempt from the Dutchman widened the margin to 0.288s.

Isack Hadjar completed the 10 for Racing Bulls ahead of Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson.

Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli remained off the pace of his frontrunning teammate down in 13th and 1.161s off the pace.

Jack Doohan completed his first full session of the weekend in 14th, the Australian returning to the cockpit of his totally rebuilt Alpine car after his crash at Turn 1 early in FP2 on Friday.

Doohan was first out on track when pit lane opened but completed only 15 laps, among the least mileage completed by any driver in the session after a quarter-hour spell in his garage in the middle of the session.

Fernando Alonso was 15th ahead of Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg.

Doohan escapes injury after huge practice crash in Japan

Jack Doohan avoided serious injury in a huge crash during the second practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix that has left Alpine facing a major car rebuild. The Alpine driver had missed FP1 as Ryo Hirakawa drove in his place, and had just …

Jack Doohan avoided serious injury in a huge crash during the second practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix that has left Alpine facing a major car rebuild.

The Alpine driver had missed FP1 as Ryo Hirakawa drove in his place, and had just started his fifth lap of FP2 when he went off at high speed at Turn 1. Doohan appeared to still have the DRS open as he turned in at full throttle at the first corner, and with the lack of downforce, the car instantly swapped ends before smashing into the tire barrier.

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Doohan went off at what was estimated to be over 180 miles per hour, with the car sustaining enormous damage and the Australian taking his time to emerge from the wreckage despite telling the team over the radio that he was okay. After being checked at the medical center, he was then released back the Alpine hospitality.

“Following precautionary medical checks, we can confirm that Jack is okay,” Alpine posted on Friday evening. “Now we’re working hard to get the car ready for tomorrow.”

The team initially refused to comment further on the incident, and Doohan also did not speak publicly after the crash. Team principal Oliver Oakes later confirmed the cause had been driver error.

“We are all relieved to see Jack walk away from his incident in Free Practice 2 and glad to see he is okay after his precautionary checks,” Oakes said. “It was a misjudgement of not closing the DRS into Turn 1. It is something to learn from, and I know Jack and the team will be ready for tomorrow. His crew will work hard to have the car prepared after the damage.”

Norris wary of Russell qualifying threat in Japan

Lando Norris believes George Russell will prove to be McLaren’s main threat in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix based on Friday’s limited running. FP2 was interrupted by four red flags – including a massive crash for Jack Doohan – and teams …

Lando Norris believes George Russell will prove to be McLaren’s main threat in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix based on Friday’s limited running.

FP2 was interrupted by four red flags – including a massive crash for Jack Doohan – and teams were unable to complete any significant long running, with qualifying simulations also interrupted. That made FP1 the better session to compare performance and it was Norris who topped the times, but the championship leader has his eye on Mercedes.

“I still think we’re at the top, but I think George was very quick this morning, just as quick as us,” Norris said. “So I think Mercedes are in a good place. Maybe Red Bull looked a little bit further off, but they have looked further off into qualifying and then they get a bit closer again.

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“So to be honest, I think the normal, but just a messy session. So I don’t think this session [FP2] was probably the best example of where everyone was. I think maybe FP1 was a better example that you kind of saw teams in order.

But I still expect it to be close and a tough battle tomorrow. I mean, I hope it’s not. I hope it’s nice and easy for us, but I’m sure Mercedes, at least, and definitely George from today’s showings will be challenging us a bit tomorrow.”

Teammate Oscar Piastri set the fastest time at the end of FP2, but hadn’t managed to complete a clean soft-tire lap in the first practice session and admits the conditions at Suzuka have made it hard to get a full understanding of car set-up.

“Difficult,” Piastri said. “I think with the part of the track being resurfaced and very gusty winds, it’s been a challenge. Around here, it’s somewhere where the wind really changes the balance a lot. And when it’s gusty like this, I don’t think you have the same car two laps in a row. So it’s been a pretty tricky day.

“Obviously, FP2 was pretty stop start, so it was hard to get into a rhythm. But I think by the end of the day, I felt reasonably comfortable. Still some fine tuning to go. I think there’s been some things I’ve been happy with today, but it’s not been the easiest overall.

“It’s really hard to know [the competitive order]. I think FP1 was difficult to get pace out the car. I think FP2, I was much more comfortable. But I think Mercedes looked very quick as well, just didn’t find much on the softs, which I think with this kind of session, it’s always a bit tricky to get a proper read.

“The pace is there and I’m feeling confident that we’ve got good pace for the rest of the weekend. But it’s still a little bit tricky at this point. So I think we’ve still got to be on our toes.”

Tsunoda enjoys positive start in ‘tricky’ Red Bull

Yuki Tsunoda says the Red Bull feels “a bit more tricky” to drive in reality compared to the simulator, despite making an encouraging start in FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix. There was plenty of focus on Tsunoda’s first outing in the RB21 during the …

Yuki Tsunoda says the Red Bull feels “a bit more tricky” to drive in reality compared to the simulator, despite making an encouraging start in FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix.

There was plenty of focus on Tsunoda’s first outing in the RB21 during the first practice session of the weekend at Suzuka, and he duly posted a best lap time just over 0.1s off teammate Max Verstappen at a similar time in FP1. The afternoon running was hit by four red flags that meant many teams missed out on representative data, but Tsunoda admits he got enough running to feel the challenges of his new car.

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“Yeah, FP1 was better than expected, a good start for myself,” Tsunoda said. “And FP2 I didn’t set a lap time. I think there is a lot of work to do, maybe slightly struggled or something that we have to look through the data in FP2 more, but so far overall it’s OK. I just have to build up confidence more.

“It’s a bit different to the simulator from what I felt, to be honest. A little bit more than I expected in terms of the car feeling. I knew anyway it was always going to be a bit different in the real car and it was a little bit more exaggerated in the real car. It’s feeling a bit more tricky.”

While Tsunoda is a new addition to the Red Bull lineup, Verstappen has been calling for car improvements for some time, and says the lack of confidence he has in the car is hurting his pace.

“It was quite chaotic out there for everyone with the red flags,” Verstappen said. “So we, like everyone else, couldn’t complete all the things that we wanted to do. But today has been quite difficult for me, just trying a lot of different things with the car. But it seems like a lot of things are not really clicking at the moment.

“It’s quite difficult just to put the lap down. You need a lot of confidence and commitment around here. And at the moment, I don’t feel like I can use that. So we still have a bit of work to do.”

Verstappen also complained of a strange sensation with his whole car flexing during FP1, but says that is an ongoing issue that appears more prominent at Suzuka and will take time to understand. Of more immediate concern for the defending champion is getting a read on how the Red Bull’s race pace is looking on Saturday.

“Not so much [graining] for us. But I was on the soft, so that tire requires a lot of management anyway. You can’t really push that tire. And then I only did like three laps at the end.

“So not really a good read. I think tomorrow, potentially in FP3, you will see a lot of teams trying to do a bit more of a longish run with the time that you have. But yeah, it’s not been an easy day.”