Verstappen sets the early pace in Japan as Sargeant crashes in FP1

Max Verstappen and Red Bull sent out a warning to the rest of the grid as he dominated the first free practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix. The Dutchman topped the timing sheets ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez in P2, and Australian Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz rounded out the top three.

For the 2024 season, the Japanese Grand Prix has been moved to April and is the fourth race of the season, sitting between the Australian and Chinese Grand Prix. This is part of F1’s efforts to create a more efficient flow of races and reduce flight travel as the sport tries to cut its carbon footprint to net zero carbon by 2030.

As well as this, the new slot will see F1 visit Japan during the world-famous cherry blossom season, offering fans the opportunity to take in fantastic racing and see one of Earth’s most iconic natural spectacles.

Verstappen sets the early pace after Australia retirement

The medium and hard tyres were used to start the first practice session around the Suzuka Circuit in what was a busy start, with many drivers getting out on the track and setting lap times within the first ten minutes of the session.

The track continued to stay very busy for the first thirty minutes, which included Super Formula and former F2 driver Ayumu Iwasa driving Daniel Ricciardo's Racing Bull around his home circuit to the delight of the home fans.

The McLaren of Lando Norris set the early pace on the medium tyres, showing that the Papaya-coloured car has some pace around the fast corners of Suzuka. Fernando Alonso also joined Norris at the top of the standings in his Aston Martin after setting an identical lap time.

However, the Red Bull of Verstappen set the fastest time in the first half of FP1, going three-tenths quicker than everyone else on the medium tyres. Teammate Sergio Perez was behind in P4, ahead of both Mercedes' and Ferrari's.

Sargeant crash causes stop before soft tyre running

The soft tyre running of the first free practice session was about to get underway, but a crash for the Williams of Logan Sargeant halted proceedings halfway through the session as he brought out the red flag.

The American put a wheel on the grass and lost control of his car, crashing into the barriers of turn 7. He will have to wait and see if there is any damage to the chassis of his car, as Williams, once again, does not have a spare one at their disposal.

There was a ten-minute delay as Sargeant's car was removed from the gravel trap at turn 7, giving teams and drivers 20 minutes to test the soft tyres.

Once again, Verstappen set an ominously quick pace at the top of the timing sheets ahead of Perez in the other rapid Red Bull. Carlos Sainz continued his fine start to the season as he was two-tenths behind Verstappen in P3, and the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished in P4 and P5, giving the German team some hope heading into FP2.

Sainz's teammate Charles Leclerc could only find the sixth fastest time on the soft tyres, with Alonso, Oscar Piastri, Yuki Tsunoda and Lando Norris rounding out the top ten as the chequered flag fell. Ayumu Iwasa could only finish P15.