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Formula 1 Japanese GP

F1 Japanese GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying

Saturday's action from the 16th round of the 2023 Formula 1 season

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19

Max Verstappen was utterly dominant on Friday at Suzuka, topping both sessions as Red Bull hunts its sixth constructors' title.

Behind the Dutchman, there was little to separate Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, while Mercedes has yet to show its Singapore pace that had the team in race-winning contention just one week ago.

With AlphaTauri confirming its 2024 driver line-up on Saturday morning and Liam Lawson confirmed back in a reserve role, the New Zealander may feel he has a point to prove in Japan.

Japanese GP final practice starts at 3:30am BST, followed by qualifying at 7:00am BST.

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Uh oh. Russell has reported a gear-sync issue on his warm-up lap. Mercedes has confirmed the problem is an unexpected one.
Red Bull and Williams appear to still be resisting the urge to leave the garage, but the rest of the field have now joined the party!
Stopwatch
But purple sectors one and two put Norris well clear! A 1:31.174s puts him 0.717s ahead of team-mate Piastri, who in turn had bested both Ferraris!
There was little to separate Norris and the Ferrari pair on Friday and, through sector one, this is again proving to be the case.
The track is slowly becoming busier, with Piastri and Norris about to begin a qualifying simulation and Stroll venturing out on hard tyres, perhaps beginning a long-run.
Stopwatch
Slower in sector one, Leclerc bests his team-mate in the second and third sectors. The gain is marginal, as his 1:31.963s is 0.038s faster than Sainz.
Stopwatch
Naturally, it's purple sectors all around for Sainz as he sets an initial 1:32.001s.
Leclerc has now followed his Ferrari team-mate out and, after the emptiness of the last five minutes, it would come as no surprise if traffic becomes an issue very soon.
We have some action! Sainz is very, very slowly leaving the pits. On fresh soft tyres, this will be an immediate qualifying simulation.
In the meantime, the official risk of rain for the coming hour is 0% while air temperature is 28C and track temp is 44C.
Five minutes into the session and we still have no sign of action beyond drivers finally getting into their cars.
We may have some action soon, as Hamilton climbs into his Mercedes with his new chrome helmet in all its glory.
Lights green
The session goes green and there is no rush to leave the pits, with Verstappen, Perez and Norris all yet to get into their cars.
A key word today will be 'degradation'. Tyres fell off the cliff far quicker than expected on Friday, meaning that Sunday's race could potentially see three-stop strategies. With this in mind, running this morning could be limited.
And just like that, we're ready to get going for final practice, which begins in two minutes.
Breaking news
We now turn our attention to the trophies and the unique nature of them. Revealed this morning also, if a driver kisses it, the trophy will light up in their national flag! 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1s-drivers-to-get-unique-kiss-me-trophies-after-japanese-gp-/10523946/
Lawson is, of course, still standing in for the injured Ricciardo this weekend and has impressed in his two appearances so far, registering AlphaTauri's best result of the season in Singapore.
Breaking news
And we'll get straight into it, as AlphaTauri this morning announced it will retain Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda for the 2024 season with Liam Lawson slipping back into a reserve role. 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/alphatauri-f1-team-retains-tsunoda-and-ricciardo-for-2024/10523899/
Good morning and welcome to Suzuka for final practice at the Japanese Grand Prix.

By: Autosport Staff

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