Russell Leads Mercedes One-Two in Japanese GP First Practice

George Russell set the pace in the opening practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix, edging out his Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli, while reigning champion Lando Norris finished third.

Drivers returned to action at the challenging Suzuka Circuit following consecutive races in Australia and China, with teams focusing on gathering data on the latest generation of cars. Early running saw Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc trade benchmark lap times as most opted for hard tyres.

Russell soon moved to the top of the timesheets, though conditions proved tricky. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar reported issues after a moment of oversteer, while several drivers struggled for grip throughout the session.

As lap times improved, Leclerc briefly challenged for the lead before Russell regained control on soft tyres, demonstrating strong one-lap pace for Mercedes. Antonelli later surged to the top after capitalising on a mistake from Russell, but the Briton ultimately reclaimed first place with a lap of 1:31.666, just 0.026 seconds quicker than his team mate.

McLaren drivers Norris and Oscar Piastri secured third and fourth, marking a positive start after a difficult outing in China. Ferrari followed in fifth and sixth, while Max Verstappen could only manage seventh.

Further down the order, Williams’ Alex Albon narrowly avoided a crash before later colliding with Sergio Perez, an incident set to be reviewed after the session.

The impact sent Albon spinning and carbon fibre flying all across the track #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/Ou1cNob6s3

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 27, 2026

Teams will return to the track later in the day for the second practice session as preparations continue for Sunday’s race.