Lewis Hamilton: “That was the best session so far” / Formula 1

For Lewis Hamilton, the weekend in Japan started better than expected. After the Mercedes star suffered zero results in Melbourne due to an engine failure, he had an exciting first session of practice at the Suzuka Circuit. On the time sheet, the Brit finished directly behind teammate George Russell.

But the young Briton was only 13 thousand short of that time. He wanted to confirm the good feeling in the second session, but it failed. Because the rain made the slopes wet, no representative laps could be completed. Hamilton made it around the Japanese rollercoaster a total of six times, finishing second behind Oscar Piastri. However, only five drivers had time to record.

Looking back at the first training session, the 103-time GP winner explained: “The first session was really good, it was the best we’ve had so far this year. And the car has never felt so good. It was very good and for me it was good because this is a slope that every rider is happy to be on. And for the last few years I’ve had a car here that’s really hard to drive.”

Hamilton also said: “If you look at how difficult the last few races have been for us, you can see that a lot of work was done in the last week, so we have the car in a good window to work here. That’s why we haven’t made any big changes to the car since the first training session .”

However, his forecast for the rest of the weekend at Suzuka was not rosy. When asked that question, the 39-year-old explained: “It is difficult to say how things will turn out. As I said, we have a good base here and therefore a good starting point, so we shouldn’t change too much – because there is a risk that things will go in the wrong direction again.”

2. Studies, Japan

01. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:34.725 min
02. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:35,226
03. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:38,760
04. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, 1:40,946
05. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Racing Bull, 1:41.913
06. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1:44.977
07. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, 1:52.579
08. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), clean, no time
09. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), clean, no time
10. Alex Albon (T), Williams, no time
11. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, no time
12. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, no time
13. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, no time
14. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, no time
15. Logan Sargeant (USA), Williams, no time
16. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, no time
17. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Bull Red Racing, no time
18. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, No Time
19. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, no time
20. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, no time

1. Studies, Japan

01. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:30,056 minutes
02. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 1:30.237
03. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, 1:30.269
04. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, 1:30,530
05. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:30,543
06. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:30,558
07. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, 1:30.599
08. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:31.165
09. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, 1:31,230
10. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1:31.240
11. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, 1:31,935
12. Alex Albon (T), Williams, 1:31,943
13. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, 1:31.958
14. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, 1:32.054
15. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, 1:32,055
16. Ayumu Iwasa (J), Racing Bull, 1:32,103
17. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, 1:32,277
18. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, 1:32,638
19. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, 1:32.803
20. Logan Sargeant (USA), Williams, 1:33,204