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Oscar Piastri tops Suzuka practice for the Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell as Lando Norris and Alex Albon hit technical and on track drama.
Formula One: McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the Japanese Grand Prix (AP)
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri set the fastest time in Friday’s second practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, displacing the previously dominant Mercedes pair of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
Piastri, yet to start a grand prix this season, underlined his talent with a lap of 1min 30.133sec in dry, sunny conditions at Suzuka.
What About Other Racers
The 19-year-old Italian Antonelli, who claimed the first grand prix victory of his career in China two weeks ago, was second, 0.092sec behind Piastri.
Early championship leader Russell, who had been quickest in the morning session ahead of Antonelli, finished third.
Piastri has endured a nightmare start to the season, crashing on his way to the grid at the opener in Australia and then failing to start the Chinese Grand Prix because of a technical problem.
His McLaren team-mate and world champion Lando Norris recorded the fourth-fastest time after sitting out the first half of the session with a suspected hydraulic leak.
Britain’s Norris, who did not start the Chinese Grand Prix due to a separate technical issue from Piastri’s, had also missed half of the morning practice.
Charles Leclerc was fifth, just ahead of Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen was 10th, 1.376sec slower than Piastri.
Alex Albon had an eventful morning and was again in the thick of the action in second practice.
The Williams driver almost collided with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in the pit lane and later came to a standstill for several seconds on track before regaining power.
Albon had crashed into Cadillac’s Sergio Perez in the morning and also skidded deep into the gravel before clipping a barrier.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso took part in the afternoon session after being replaced by reserve driver Jak Crawford in the morning.
Alonso arrived in Japan late following the birth of his first child.
(With inputs from Agencies)
March 27, 2026, 2:23 pm IST
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