Formula One F1 - Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan - September 22, 2023 Red Bull's Max Verstappen in pits during practice REUTERS/Issei Kato
SUZUKA, Japan (Reuters) -Red Bull's runaway Formula One leader Max Verstappen roared back from a stinging defeat in Singapore to dominate Japanese Grand Prix practice on Friday and send a statement of intent to his rivals.
The double world champion was a man on a mission at Suzuka, fastest in both sessions and laying down a marker with his first lap out of the pits.
"Max back to the front again, so it was fun while it lasted," joked McLaren boss Zak Brown on Sky Sports, referring to last weekend's first podium of the season without a Red Bull driver.
The second session ended two minutes early when Alpine's Pierre Gasly locked up and crashed at Degner Two, bringing out red flags.
Verstappen's record run of 10 wins in a row, and Red Bull's 15 successive victories, came to an end last Sunday when he finished only fifth under the floodlights at Marina Bay with Mexican team mate Sergio Perez eighth.
The Dutch 25-year-old lapped with a best time of one minute 31.647 seconds in Friday's first session, 0.626 quicker than Ferrari's Singapore winner Carlos Sainz, and went on to do a lap of 1:30.688 in second practice.
"It felt really good today. From lap one, the car was enjoyable to drive again," he said.
Perez, 151 points behind Verstappen after 15 of 22 races, had a harder time and was only 11th and ninth respectively -- more than a second slower than his team mate in both.
"I think this morning we were a bit off balance on our side. I think we have some pretty good understanding of the direction we need to take," said the Mexican.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who was fourth in practice one when he was testing a new floor on his car, was second in the second session and 0.320 slower than Verstappen.
"We seem to be slightly closer to our competitors than expected, so it was quite a positive day overall," said Leclerc.
DOMINANT POSITION
Verstappen won in Japan last year from pole position and arrived in Suzuka expecting his car to be back in a dominant position.
Red Bull need only score a point more than Mercedes on Sunday to retain their constructors' title while Verstappen looks likely to clinch his third championship in Qatar in two weeks' time.
McLaren's Lando Norris was third fastest in both sessions, 0.745 and 0.464 off the pace respectively.
Mercedes had George Russell 13th fastest and seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton 16th in session one but, unlike those above them on the timesheets, they did not use the quicker soft tyres in the session.
"We're glad its not a sprint race because we've got a bit of work to do," said Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin in between sessions.
"We just haven't landed with a great balance here ... fundamentally, a bit of work to do on the setup."
Russell was fifth in practice two with Hamilton 14th.
Japan's only driver Yuki Tsunoda was fifth and 18th for AlphaTauri ahead of his home race with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso sixth in both.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri was seventh and eighth with an upgraded car.
"It was a normal session for us," said Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack. "The drivers are reasonably happy."
Williams' Alex Albon, AlphaTauri's stand-in Liam Lawson - replacing the injured Daniel Ricciardo for a fourth race - and Aston Martin's Lance Stroll completed the top 10 in an uneventful first practice.
Drivers also tested Pirelli tyres for the 2024 season during the session.
(Writing by Alan Baldwin in London; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Sonali Paul, Miral Fahmy and Ken Ferris)
