The 2026 F1 Japanese GP continued with FP2 as drivers prepared to head out on track at the Suzuka Circuit, full report below.
Earlier, the day kicked off with a Mercedes-led FP1, which saw George Russell go fastest with a 1:31.666. Throughout the session, multiple drivers ran wide at Spoon, but Alex Albon luckily escaped a near-wall collision. Although near the end, at the final chicane, the Williams driver made contact with Sergio Pérez, causing Albon to spin and pick up front wing damage.
Time for FP2
FP2 began with Lewis Hamilton leading the pack out on track for the hour-long session. Meanwhile, reigning World Champion Lando Norris remained in the garage after his McLaren was found to have a hydraulic leak.
The Red Bull Racing duo was quick to jump to P1 and P2 with an opening 1:32.625 lead for Isack Hadjar. However, ten minutes into the session, the leaderboard quickly reshuffled with Oscar Piastri going 0.073 seconds quicker than Russell on the same medium tires. Albon triggered a brief yellow flag when his Williams FW48 car stopped on track due to a temporary glitch, though he quickly reset it and got going again.
Reliability problems hit Audi and Racing Bulls as Gabriel Bortoleto and rookie Arvid Lindblad parked their cars in the garage with no time on the board. Notably, Charles Leclerc stormed to the top with a 1:31.016.
Race simulation runs begin
20 minutes into the 2026 FP2 Japanese GP session, drivers made their way into the pit lane, with teams ready for race-simulation runs, as Leclerc, Piastri, Hamilton, and Lawson were the first to switch to soft tyres. Meanwhile, Norris was finally able to get out on track for his first flying lap. Sergio Peréz hadn’t made his way out on track yet and remained in the garage, while the team worked to fix the Cadillac driver’s floor, which was damaged in the FP1 collision with Albon.
Halfway through the session, Oscar Piastri led the grid with a 1:30.133, followed by Antonelli, Leclerc, Russell, and Hamilton.
Bortoleto makes his way out on track
Track temperatures at the Suzuka Circuit dropped as multiple drivers switched from softs to medium and hard tyres. Notably, with 10 minutes left, Nico Hülkenberg sat in P7, followed by Albon, Bearman, and Verstappen who completed the top ten.
Having faced reliability issues throughout most of the session, Bortoleto made his way out on track. Meanwhile, Lindblad remains in the pits with no time set.
The 2026 F1 Japanese GP FP2 session concluded with Piastri leading the timesheets with a time of 1:30.133, finishing ahead of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
