Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen set the fastest time during practice for the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit on Friday.
His best lap was clocked at 1 minute, 30.688 seconds.
After an uncharacteristic showing at the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend where he finished fifth, Verstappen was pleased with his practice performance at Suzuka.
“It felt really good today, from lap one the car was enjoyable to drive again. We’ve had a strong day on the short and long runs. There’s a lot of degradation on this track so it will be quite tough on tires during the race, but so far, we’ve had a good start to the weekend,” the reigning Formula 1 champion said.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was second-fastest in practice with a 1-minute, 31.008-second lap time.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was third, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Mercedes’ George Russell completing the top five.
“The Red Bull looks to have returned to its normal pace at the front. They have been exceptionally quick today. I think we are likely half-a-step behind the Ferraris and the McLaren of Lando Norris at present. We’ve got a bit of work to do tonight to close that gap,” Russell said.