Oscar Piastri overtakes Mercedes and leads second free practice for the Japanese Formula 1 grand prix

The second free practice session for Grande Prêmio of Japão of Fórmula 1, held this Friday at Circuito of The driver clocked a time of 1m30s133, surpassing by a narrow margin the Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli, from Mercedes, who was in second place. George Russell completed the group of three fastest competitors in the morning, confirming the good performance of the German team on the Japanese circuit after leading the opening session.

The training was marked by different strategies and the need to recover some pilots who faced technical difficulties right at the beginning of their track activities. The Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, rookie of the season for the Audi team, experienced moments of tension in the pits due to mechanical problems that limited his riding time. The team worked intensely to get the car into racing condition, allowing the young national talent to participate in the final stretch of the timed session.

The main features of this preparatory stage in Suzuka included:

• Initial dominance of Mercedes and McLaren in the timesheets with medium and soft tires.
• Technical problems with the gearbox of Gabriel Bortoleto’s car, delaying his departure.
• Presence of young talents such as Antonelli and Bearman appearing among the ten best times.
• Difficulty adapting to Red Bull, with Max Verstappen finishing outside the top positions.

Piastri pips Antonelli in second practice at Suzuka

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—Formula 1 (@F1)March 27, 2026

Technical recovery and performance of Gabriel Bortoleto on Audi

Gabriel Bortoleto needed a lot of patience and focus to deal with the setbacks that arose in Audi’s garage during the Japanese dawn. The Brazilian driver was unable to record fast laps during the first half of training due to a necessary replacement in the gearbox of his single-seater. The team’s engineers worked around the clock to ensure that the driver had at least a few minutes of dry track to collect essential telemetry data.

After the mechanical effort, Bortoleto managed to leave the pits when there were only fifteen minutes left before the green flag in Suzuka. Mesmo facing an intense traffic of competitors who were also looking for classification simulations, the Brazilian recorded a time of 1m31s933, guaranteeing sixteenth place overall. Essa final mileage was essential so that the team could validate the repairs made and prepare the car’s tuning for the official sessions that will take place on Saturday.

McLaren’s dominance and the consistency of Mercedes in Suzuka

Oscar Piastri demonstrated that McLaren has an extremely efficient aerodynamic package for the high-speed corners that define the first sector of the Japanese track. The Australian driver took advantage of the soft tires’ greater grip to overtake the Mercedes, which had dominated the first free practice session of the day. Piastri’s advantage over second place was just 0s092, highlighting the technical balance that should mark the dispute for pole position in the coming hours.

Mercedes, in turn, maintained optimism by placing its two pilots among the top three again, showing that the updates brought to Suzuka had an effect. Andrea Kimi Antonelli surprised by being faster than his experienced teammate, George Russell, by just over a tenth of a second. The stability of the silver car in technical sections suggests that the team will be one of the protagonists throughout the weekend of competition on Asian soil.

Below, the times recorded by the first placed teams:

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 1m30s133
2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 1m30s225
3. George Russell (Mercedes) – 1m30s338
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 1m30s649
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1m30s846

Tire strategies and race simulations in second practice

The choice of compounds was the determining factor for the alternation of positions observed during the sixty minutes of activity in the Suzuka circuit. At the start of the session, Charles Leclerc led the table using medium compound tires, initially focusing on race pace and rubber durability. Conforme the track was rubbery and the temperature rose slightly, the majority of the grid opted to put on soft tires to test the car’s pure speed limits.

Traffic was a constant challenge for drivers like Lando Norris and Sergio Pérez, who had their fast laps hampered by slower cars in difficult overtaking sections. Max Verstappen, current world champion, adopted a more conservative stance, focusing on suspension adjustments and not prioritizing an aggressive launched lap at this time. Essa approach resulted in a tenth place for the Dutchman from Red Bull, which does not necessarily reflect the car’s real potential for Sunday’s race.

Official Japão Grand Prize Schedule and Broadcasts

Fans who follow the category will need to keep up with alternative schedules so as not to miss the decisive developments of the Japanese stage. The third free practice is scheduled to take place this Friday, at 11:30 pm local time, serving as the last fine-tuning before the grid is defined. The official classification, which defines the starting positions, will be held in the early hours of Saturday, at 3am, with wide media coverage and real-time monitoring.

The great race, valid as one of the most traditional stages on the world calendar, will have its authorized start at 2 am on Sunday morning at Suzuka. Organizers are expecting a record crowd, driven by renewed interest in the race between McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari, who appear to have closed the gap to Red Bull. Gabriel Bortoleto will seek to use the data obtained this Friday to climb positions and fight for its first important points in its debut season in the elite of motorsport.

Technical perspective of intermediate and rookie teams

The session was also productive for teams like Audi and Williams, who seek to consolidate themselves in the intermediate field through specific updates to their electronic systems. Nico Hulkenberg, Bortoleto’s teammate, achieved a solid seventh place, showing that the Audi car has the potential to fight for Q3 in tomorrow’s qualifying. Na Williams, Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz focused on collecting fuel consumption data, finishing in eighth and thirteenth positions, respectively, in a silent engineering effort.

Analysis of the behavior of Pirelli tires on abrasive asphalt

The abrasiveness of the Suzuka asphalt requires drivers to manage the heating of the front tires with extreme caution, especially following curves known as “S” in the first sector. Oscar Piastri commented after the session that the car’s balance was satisfactory, but that thermal degradation will be the biggest challenge for the pit stop strategy. Pirelli has supplied the hardest compounds in its range for this event, anticipating that the lateral load exerted on the tires will be one of the highest of the entire 2026 season.