Hamilton tops first practice in Japan
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton led the way at the end of a quiet first practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix

In dry and sunny conditions at Fuji, Hamilton beat title rival Felipe Massa (Ferrari) to first position by 0.153 seconds, with their respective teammates Heikki Kovalainen and Kimi Raikkonen completing the top four.
The session got off to a leisurely start, with only home team Toyota coming out to entertain the fans early on.
Raikkonen was the first of the major contenders to emerge, setting his first flying lap half an hour into the session, although a lock-up and the need to get around Rubens Barrichello's Honda on his first lap meant he needed two attempts to claim first place.
The Finn briefly relinquished the top spot to Hamilton shortly afterwards, but moved back ahead before the end of his run as the McLaren lost time with a trip over the Turn 1 run-off area.
Hamilton took charge when he rejoined 20 minutes later, lapping in 1:19.062 to beat Raikkonen by three tenths of a second.
Massa then leapt to second, just 0.001 seconds behind Hamilton, but that remarkably close situation only lasted a few moments before Hamilton improved to a 1:18.910 - which would stand as the best lap of the morning as no-one gained time on the final runs.
Kovalainen improved to third on his second run, with Raikkonen falling to fourth as his early time proved to be his best of the session.
Fernando Alonso (Renault) was the main challenger to McLaren and Ferrari all morning and duly ended up fifth, ahead of his teammate Nelson Piquet.
Toro Rosso continued their recent strong form with Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais in seventh and ninth positions, split by Robert Kubica's BMW.
Local favourite Kazuki Nakajima languished at the foot of the times until the closing moments, when he leapt up to 10th for Williams.
His improvement edged Adrian Sutil's Force India out of the top ten, as the German showed promising form at the track where he scored his only point to date last year.
Circuit owners Toyota had a disappointing start to the weekend, with early pace-setters Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock ultimately dropping to 15th and 18th respectively.
The session saw very little incident bar a few trips across the ample asphalt run-off areas and a half spin at Turn 10 by BMW's Nick Heidfeld.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:18.910 + 23 2. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:19.063 + 0.153 24 3. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:19.279 + 0.369 20 4. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:19.399 + 0.489 31 5. Alonso Renault (B) 1:19.473 + 0.563 30 6. Piquet Renault (B) 1:19.743 + 0.833 35 7. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:20.121 + 1.211 30 8. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:20.160 + 1.250 26 9. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:20.182 + 1.272 34 10. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:20.217 + 1.307 25 11. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:20.288 + 1.378 26 12. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:20.350 + 1.440 28 13. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:20.620 + 1.710 24 14. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:20.628 + 1.718 23 15. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:20.657 + 1.747 33 16. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:20.753 + 1.843 32 17. Button Honda (B) 1:20.769 + 1.859 27 18. Glock Toyota (B) 1:20.823 + 1.913 37 19. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:20.905 + 1.995 24 20. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:21.014 + 2.104 28 All timing unofficial

Government keen to save Montreal race
Raikkonen insists he is still motivated

Latest news
Daytona 24: Westbrook’s Ganassi Cadillac tops second practice
Richard Westbrook ensured Cadillac’s new V-LMDh snagged top spot in second practice for the Daytona 24 Hours, ahead of the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura.
Auer suffers back injury in Daytona 24 practice shunt
Mercedes driver Lucas Auer has suffered a back injury and been taken to hospital following a violent crash in opening practice for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours.
Daytona 24: WTR Acura tops heavily interrupted FP1
Five red flags disrupted the first practice session for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours, while Filipe Albuquerque put the Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura on top.
Pedrosa to make KTM MotoGP wildcard outing in Spanish GP
Dani Pedrosa will make his first MotoGP race start since the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix with a wildcard entry for KTM at this year’s Spanish GP in April.
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? LUKE SMITH asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
What difference did F1's fastest pitstops of 2022 make?
While a quick pitstop can make all the difference to the outcome of a Formula 1 race, most team managers say consistency is more important than pure speed. MATT KEW analyses the fastest pitstops from last season to see which ones – if any – made a genuine impact
When F1 ‘holiday’ races kept drivers busy through the winter
Modern Formula 1 fans have grown accustomed to a lull in racing during winter in the northern hemisphere. But, as MAURICE HAMILTON explains, there was a time when teams headed south of the equator rather than bunkering down in the factory. And why not? There was fun to be had, money to be made and reputations to forge…
What Porsche social media frenzy says about F1’s manufacturer allure
Porsche whipped up a frenzy thanks to a cryptic social media post last week and, although it turned out to be a false alarm, it also highlighted why manufacturers remain such an important element in terms of the attraction that they bring to F1. It is little wonder that several other manufacturers are bidding for a slice of the action
Why the new Williams boss shouldn’t avoid ‘Mercedes B-team’ comparisons
OPINION: Williams has moved to replace the departed Jost Capito by appointing former Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles as its new team principal. But while he has sought to play down the idea of moulding his new squad into a vision of his old one, some overlap is only to be expected and perhaps shouldn't be shied away from
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.