Marko compliments Ferrari: 'That one was very impressive'

Max Verstappen topped the timesheet of the first free practice session in Japan. Sergio Perez finished in second place during VT1. The second free practice went a lot messier. Both Red Bull drivers did not make an appearance. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko sees starting points for the rest of the weekend in Japan.

Red Bull advisor Marko is positive after Friday's practice. Despite the dominance in FP1, he respects Ferrari's longruns. "We are very satisfied. We made relatively extensive updates and they worked. But Ferrari's longrun was very impressive: Leclerc was a second faster. That is not the reality. If you use less fuel in the car, which Ferrari likes to do, they are close to us," Marko told Motorsport-Magazin.

Marko on Iwasa alongside Tsunoda

During the first free practice session, Ayumu Iwasa drove Daniel Ricciardo's car at Visa Cash App RB. The Japanese talent thus got the chance to drive himself into the spotlight with the likes of Marko. The Austrian is enthusiastic about the Japanese driver. "Iwasa at VCARB has done very well. The gap to Yuki Tsunoda is less than a second. That is a very positive performance," Marko told ORF.

Red Bull have come to Suzuka with updates to the cars. No fewer than three things have been changed on Verstappen and Perez's RB20. The inlets of the sidepods are new, and an adjustment to the surface and edge of the floor can be spotted. Also included are smaller inlets for the brakes, but unlike the other updates, these have been specially brought to Japan. So this is not an update to the car.