FP2: Piastri sets the pace from Antonelli and Russell during second practice in Japan

Oscar Piastri topped the timesheets in the second practice hour ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, the McLaren driver leading the way from the Mercedes pair of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

After the Silver Arrows led a 1-2 during the day’s opening practice session, the drivers and teams returned to action for Free Practice 2 at 1500 local time – including Fernando Alonso, who was set to make his first track appearance of the weekend, having handed his car to Third Driver Jak Crawford during FP1.

Lewis Hamilton led the pack out in a busy start to the hour, with the majority of the field sporting the medium tyres while a small number opted for the hard compound, and Alonso bolted on the soft rubber.

Replays showed a close moment in the pit lane between Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, the Alpine having to take avoiding action after the latter emerged in front of him from the Williams garage.

While most of the field were putting their initial laps on the board, Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad had returned to the pits after an opening run, the car having seemingly experienced an issue. Elsewhere McLaren’s Lando Norris and Cadillac’s Sergio Perez were yet to make an appearance, each remaining in their respective garages.

There was further drama for Albon, who encountered a slower-moving car in the Esses whilst on a hot lap – and it did not end there for the Thai driver as his FW48 later came to a halt on track, briefly triggering the yellow flags before he managed to get moving again.

Also still in the garage was Gabriel Bortoleto, the Audi driver forced to watch on as the team worked on his car following just two laps’ running. But out on track it was Charles Leclerc who had set the early pace, the Ferrari driver going quickest on a 1m 31.019s ahead of Piastri and Russell.

There was positive news over at McLaren, with Norris heading out onto the circuit with just under 40 minutes left on the clock, the Briton running the medium tyres as he belatedly got his programme underway. Meanwhile others had swapped to the soft compound, including team mate Piastri who had climbed to the top of the timesheets.

Cadillac stated that the delay to Perez joining the session was due to the car still being repaired following floor damage from the Mexican’s contact with Albon in FP1, while Racing Bulls confirmed that Lindblad’s session had come to an end due to a gearbox issue.

Meanwhile the stewards announced that an incident between Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen would be investigated after the session over Colapinto allegedly ‘driving erratically’, the Argentine driver seemingly weaving to warm up his tyres as the Dutchman approached at speed.

As FP2 reached its halfway mark, Piastri was quickest on a 1m 30.133s, with a margin of nine-hundredths over the Mercedes of Antonelli, while the other Silver Arrows machine of Russell followed in third.

Perez joined the fray following his delayed start, the Cadillac driver going straight onto the soft tyres, while Norris placed a respectable sixth on the medium rubber, the Briton one of only two drivers – alongside Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll – yet to run the soft.

As many switched their focus back to the medium and hard-shod runs in the latter stages of the session – just as Norris swapped to the soft tyres – Bortoleto rejoined the action in the final 10 minutes, also on the soft compound.

When the chequered flag fell to bring FP2 to a close, Piastri remained on top with his earlier effort of 1m 30.133s, staying 0.092s ahead of Chinese Grand Prix winner Antonelli. Russell held onto third, ahead of Norris in fourth and the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Hamilton in fifth and sixth respectively – despite the latter reporting that he had “no confidence” in the car during the final stages of the session.

Nico Hulkenberg led Audi’s charge in seventh, while Albon, Haas’ Ollie Bearman and Verstappen – who experienced a wide moment in the latter stages – rounded out the top 10. The other Haas of Esteban Ocon placed 11th, followed by Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, the Williams of Carlos Sainz, Gasly and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar.

Bortoleto wound up in P16 – having managed 10 laps in the end – from Colapinto, the Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas, Alonso, Perez and Stroll, with Lindblad classified at the bottom of the order after recording just one lap owing to the gearbox issue on his car.

With the first day of track action now complete, the drivers and teams will have the opportunity to review their data before returning for Free Practice 3 on Saturday 1130 local time, ahead of Qualifying later in the day at 1500.