George Russell i continued the dominance start to the 2026 season, topping the timing sheet at the Japanese Grand Prix Free Practice 1 session ahead of Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli.How it happenedThe first session of on-track running at the Suzuka circuit kicked off with George Russell topping the timing sheet. The Mercedes driver clocked a lap time of 1:33.312, taking an early seven-tenth lead ahead of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.More drivers continued to hit the track, and changes were reflected on the timing sheet, with Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari storming to second place and Verstappen moving a spot ahead of Piastri.
What followed was a session of constant lead changes between Leclerc, Russell, and Kimi Antonelli, with Leclerc just edging the Mercedes duo by under a tenth of a second.
George Russell – Photo: Race Pictures
Meanwhile, the lead atop the timing sheet continued to shift. McLaren faced teething issues, with Lando Norris stuck in the garage after completing only one lap for much of the first half of the free practice session.The reigning world champion soon returned to the track, but had a brief moment where he locked up his tyres. Norris’ incident was followed by Alex Albon, who also went off track briefly. Additionally, Cadillac’s Sergio Perez experienced a moment where he impeded Russell, who was far from pleased with the move by the veteran Mexican.Listen to or watch the GPblog.com video podcast. In the F1 Paddock Update, Jim Kimberley and Ben Hunt discuss the latest Formula 1 news. New episodes are available every Monday and Thursday on YouTube, Spotify, or your favourite podcast app.
Teams soon switched back to hard tyres, with long-run simulations dominating the final running of the session.
Perez will again be involved in an incident with Albon, with the pair making contact in the corners. Amid the endless on-track action and impeding moments, it was Russell who clocked the quickest time of 1:31.666, ahead of Antonelli, to top the session in Suzuka.
Norris overcame his early woes to claim third place, ahead of Piastri. Leclerc finished fifth ahead of Hamilton. Verstappen seventh, ahead of Lawson. Esteban Ocon and Arvid Lindblad completed the top ten from the early running in Suzuka.
PosDriverLap Time1George Russell1:31.6662Kimi Antonelli+0.0263Lando Norris+0.1324Oscar Piastri+0.1995Charles Leclerc+0.2896Lewis Hamilton+0.3747Max Verstappen+0.7918Liam Lawson+0.8639Esteban Ocon+0.93510Arvid Lindblad+0.99911Gabriel Bortoleto+1.09312Nico Hulkenberg+1.13213Isack Hadjar+1.13714Oliver Bearman+1.23415Pierre Gasly+1.31216Franco Colapinto+1.69517Carlos Sainz+1.71718Alex Albon+2.03119Sergio Perez+2.55520Valtteri Bottas+2.82421Lance Stroll+3.62822Jack Crawford+4.696Follow our live coverage of the Japanese GP here!GPblg Paddock Update
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