Japanese Grand Prix 2025: pre-qualifying
There was some tiny news since the last race, which I covered in the last podcast. For those who don’t read the transcripts and haven’t been paying any attention to F1: Lawson and Tsunoda have swapped seats. There’s been much sympathy for Lawson across the grid, including from an exasperated Verstappen. Comparing the two drivers will be one of the most interesting aspects of the year. Norris was fastest in first practice, a tenth and a half ahead of Russell, with Leclerc two and a half-tenths further back. The Monegasque was a tenth ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen, with Tsunoda another tenth slower. Alonso was just barely ahead of Hadjar, with Antonelli and Sainz rounding out the top 10. Piastri was down in 15th. The second session saw a big Doohan crash, and some grass on fire, which is quite unusual. The grass on fire brought out the red flag (twice), and reduced running means fewer drivers setting fast laps so the times are less representative than usual. This is especially the c...