F1 night shift: Friday success for Mercedes as storm alters F1 schedule
F1 News
Normal service has resumed for Mercedes, though the schedule for the Japanese Grand Prix is far from normal in the world of Formula 1. Valtteri Bottas topped the timesheets in both FP1 and FP2. The Finnish driver will start the Japanese Grand Prix on pole if SUNDAY'S qualifying session is cancelled.
Night shift
In the middle of the night, Formula 1 confirmed qualifying will be postponed until Sunday morning (2am BST) because of the incoming typhoon Hagibis. The storm is set to bring 200mph/h winds to Suzuka on Saturday and therefore all Saturday running is cancelled.
The race will still be held at 02:10 PM local time or 06:10 AM UK time or 01:10 AM Eastern Standard Time in the United States. A busy Sunday ahead for all the teams with qualifying and the race held on the same day!
Prior to the start of FP2, Formula 1 confirmed results from the second practice session would form the starting grid for the race should qualifying be unable to run due to damage/rain/safety issues.
FP1
Bottas led a Mercedes one-two at Suzuka in Free Practice 1, with the German works team needing exactly that result on Sunday for them to clinch their sixth consecutive constructors' championship. The Silver Arrows were within a tenth of a second of each other with Lewis Hamilton in P2 but almost a full second quicker than Ferrari on Friday morning at Suzuka.
Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing finished the session in that order, with Bottas, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen all beating their respective teammates.
The session also featured Japanese driver Naoki Yamamoto, who occupied Pierre Gasly's STR14 for this session only, with the 31-year-old finishing 17th on the timesheets, a tenth of a second behind Toro Rosso's other driver in Daniil Kvyat.
FP2
Bottas topped his second session of the day in Japan. If qualifying is cancelled on Sunday, Bottas will start the Japanese Grand Prix from pole position with Hamilton also on the front-row.
Verstappen rounded out the top three in the session which featured the traditional long-runs in preparation for the race and some qualifying simulations towards the end of the session.
Leclerc finished ahead of Vettel as Ferrari struggled to trouble either Red Bull Racing or Mercedes. They attempted for a hot lap towards the end of the session, but traffic prevented them from toppling the leaders.
Overview
After performing so well in recent weeks, it's a surprise to see Ferrari struggling. They seemed to be well off the pace in both sessions. When they turned it up towards the end of FP2, they still couldn't beat Mercedes with fresh soft tyres.
Mercedes once again look the strongest as the inevitable sixth consecutive world championship looks likely to be sealed this weekend in Suzuka.