Formula 1 Japanese GP: Piastri leads 2nd free practice; Bortoleto is 16th at Suzuka Circuit

McLaren demonstrated competitive strength during the early hours of this Friday, March 27, 2026, by achieving the best time in the second free practice session for the Japão GP. The Australian rider Oscar Piastri clocked a time of 1m30s133 in the Circuito of The session concluded the first day of track activities on Japanese soil under stable weather conditions, allowing the intense use of soft tires in the second half of the activity.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, from Mercedes, secured second place with a minimum difference of just 0s092 in relation to the McLaren leader. The British George Russell completed the group of the top three, confirming the good form of the German team that had already led the previous training session. Gabriel Bortoleto, Brazilian representative on the grid for team Audi, faced significant technical setbacks and ended the session in 16th position. The weekend schedule follows the following local times in Suzuka:

• Third free training: Friday, at 11:30 pm.
• Classification session: Saturday, 3pm.
• Official race: Sunday, 2pm.

FP2 CLASSIFICATION

Piastri outpaces the two Mercedes 👀#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/D0fOl2o9X0

—Formula 1 (@F1)March 27, 2026

Technical performance of McLaren and Mercedes on Japanese asphalt

Oscar Piastri managed to regain the lead on the timesheets after a start to training dominated by alternations between The Woking team is seeking immediate recovery after facing serious technical difficulties that prevented its cars from participating in the final stages of the season. Lando Norris was also among the fastest, finishing in fourth place and consolidating the promising pace of the orange cars on the Suzuka route.

Mercedes maintained the consistency shown in the first free practice, when it had secured a one-two finish in the top positions. Kimi Antonelli and George Russell demonstrated that the German car’s setup is well adapted to the high-speed curves characteristic of sector one of the circuit. Esse performance places the team as one of the favorites to compete for pole position, maintaining the momentary lead in the constructors’ world championship.

Mechanical difficulties and overcoming Gabriel Bortoleto at Audi

Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto had his participation compromised for a large part of the session due to a gearbox failure. The engineers at Audi needed to carry out an emergency replacement of the component, which kept car number 11 in the pits for more than forty minutes. The team managed to release the driver onto the track when there were only 15 minutes left until the end of the official activity, requiring a race against time.

Even with reduced track time and facing intense traffic on fast laps, Bortoleto managed to record competitive times with the soft compound tires. The Brazilian closed his participation with the 16th best time, 1s800 behind the session leader, Oscar Piastri. The Audi team’s focus now turns to analyzing the data collected in the final moments to optimize performance in Saturday’s qualifying.

Dynamics of team compounds and strategies in Suzuka

Charles Leclerc was the first driver to set a relevant reference time using medium tires during the first third of the activity in Japão. However, the scenario changed drastically when the majority of the grid opted for qualifying simulations with new soft tires. Esse strategic movement allowed Piastri to considerably lower the lap time, setting the new record of the day on the Japanese circuit.

Drivers who faced delays at the start of the session had to compress their testing schedules to assess both single-lap pace and tire degradation. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, both defending Ferrari, closed the top 6 of the session with times very close to each other. Red Bull, on the other hand, presented a more muted performance with Max Verstappen finishing outside the top ten in this particular session.

• Soft tires were responsible for the best laps of the day.
• Thermal degradation in Suzuka concerns engineers for race strategy.
• Traffic in the last sector prevented faster laps from drivers in the middle of the grid.
• Relative air humidity directly influenced brake cooling.

Situation of rookie and reserve drivers on the track

Arvid Lindblad did not participate in the track session for Racing Bulls, leaving the team to focus on the work of Liam Lawson, who finished 12th. Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly, from Alpine, sought to improve the car’s setup but found it difficult to get below 1m31s. Young drivers Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar took advantage of the opportunity to accumulate important mileage on one of the most technical circuits on the world calendar.

Nico Hulkenberg, Bortoleto’s teammate in Audi, had a solid performance to secure seventh position, showing the potential of the chassis when there are no mechanical problems. Williams also showed signs of improvement with Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz finishing eighth and 13th, respectively. Cadillac closed the timesheet with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez, who faced aerodynamic balance difficulties in their passages.

Expectations for defining the starting grid on Saturday

The closeness between McLaren’s times, Mercedes and The weather in Suzuka is often unpredictable, and any variation in the temperature of the asphalt could completely alter the hierarchy seen in today’s free practice sessions.

Gabriel Bortoleto’s recovery will be the focus of attention for Audi, who needs to make up for lost time in the garage. The Brazilian demonstrated resilience by delivering a clean lap under pressure at the end of the session, which brings optimism for the search for points on Sunday. Red Bull of Max Verstappen is still unknown, as the Austrian team usually hides the game during Friday activities.

The Japanese public showed up in force at the Suzuka stands, demonstrating the local enthusiasm for motorsport and the return of big names to the top of the table. The event organizers confirmed that all tickets for qualifying and the race are sold out, predicting a record audience for the global broadcast. Official broadcasts continue with an open signal for the main moments of the competition.