Japanese GP: Norris Leads Practice 1, Tsunoda Shines in Red Bull Debut

Lando Norris finished first in practice for McLaren at the Japanese Grand Prix, and Yuki Tsunoda made a promising start in his first run for Red Bull Racing.

Despite struggling with his McLaren initially and going off track, Norris set a fastest lap of 1:28.549, beating George Russell of Mercedes by 0.163 seconds.

Even though he was fastest, Norris expressed concern over the radio about tyre wear during longer runs. His McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, was only 15th after mistakes on his quick laps.

Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were third and fourth, followed by Max Verstappen in fifth. Tsunoda was just behind Verstappen in sixth, a little over a tenth of a second slower.

Tsunoda was recently promoted to Red Bull from their junior team, Racing Bulls, replacing Liam Lawson just a few races into the season. Lawson had been considered for Verstappen`s teammate in 2025 just months prior.

Finishing only a tenth behind the reigning champion was a positive start for Tsunoda at his home race. However, there seemed to be a bigger gap in performance during the later long runs.

Speaking after the session, Tsunoda said he found the Red Bull car “interesting” and considered it a “good session.”

Lawson finished 13th in his return to Racing Bulls, where he had previously raced before his brief stint with Red Bull. He was outpaced by his teammate Isack Hadjar, who continued his strong start as a rookie by finishing eighth.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner commented that it was a “positive start” for Tsunoda, highlighting his clear feedback and familiarity with the Suzuka circuit.

Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin was seventh, while Mercedes` rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli was slower than Russell, finishing ninth.

Carlos Sainz, now with Williams after moving from Ferrari, showed improvement, finishing 10th ahead of his teammate Alex Albon.

Japanese fans also saw Ryo Hirakawa drive for Alpine instead of Jack Doohan, as part of Alpine`s young driver practice session requirement.

McLaren Quick Despite Tricky Start

McLaren came to Japan as favorites after Norris and Piastri each won a race in the first two events. However, they didn`t look completely comfortable at the beginning of Friday practice.

Norris struggled with his car`s handling in the final corners (Turns 16 and 17) and briefly went off the track.

Despite these issues, Norris still managed to set the fastest time, which could be a warning sign to their rivals about McLaren`s potential.

George Russell seemed to be McLaren`s main challenger in this session, showing good pace and managing tyre wear well in longer runs.

Ferrari, aiming to recover after being disqualified in the previous race in China, were about half a second behind Norris. They still appear to be working on setup issues that have affected their season start.

While Tsunoda`s performance was encouraging, Verstappen was also over half a second slower than Norris and reported unusual flexing on his car, suggesting he might find it difficult to repeat his dominant win at Suzuka from last year.