Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Oscar Piastri topped FP2 at Suzuka with a 1:30.133 on soft tires, 0.092s clear of Kimi Antonelli and 0.205s ahead of George Russell. The McLaren driver led the Mercedes pair after Friday running. The session set up a closer fight between McLaren and Mercedes heading into qualifying at the Suzuka Circuit.
The timesheet put Piastri in control on a single lap. Antonelli slotted into second. Russell was third. Lando Norris finished fourth despite missing long spells with a hydraulic leak on his McLaren. The late push from both McLarens hinted at strong one‑lap speed.
Mercedes gave a cautious read on the gap. Russell said McLaren’s pace was a surprise but likely real. He said the team still has work to do overnight, with energy management a focus. Track engineering director Andrew Shovlin called the day productive. He pointed to single‑lap energy challenges and said the team will make tweaks before qualifying.
Data from the session showed where the gains came. McLaren found time with higher top speed and power deployment on the run to the final straight. Mercedes looked strong in the S‑curves early in the lap. The long runs also suggested some strength for Mercedes over a stint. The split left the qualifying picture open, with different cars shining in different sectors.
The rest of the order backed up that pattern. Ferrari trailed the frontrunners on pace. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton ended the session P5 and P6. Red Bull did not feature at the top despite upgrades. Max Verstappen was P10. Isack Hadjar was P15. The gaps on the board underlined a clear break between the leading three teams and the midfield.
Teams used much of FP2 to gather data on energy use across a lap. Suzuka rewards clean battery deployment out of the slower sections and down the straights. It also punishes mistakes in the high‑speed Esses. That balance shaped the lap time spread on Friday. It will set the priorities for setup work overnight.
McLaren left the day with the headline time and reasons for confidence. Piastri’s lap showed the car’s speed on low fuel. Norris reaching P4 despite lost time reinforced the base pace. The team’s top speed numbers and deployment profile gave it an edge near the line.
Mercedes showed better balance in the first sector and signs of stronger race‑pace runs. The engineers highlighted energy use as the area to unlock one‑lap speed. Small changes in deployment and corner entry might close the last tenths. Russell called the picture tight, and the lap traces supported that view.
Ferrari sat close enough to punish errors from the two teams ahead. Leclerc’s best lap kept the car in the mix on single‑lap pace. The longer runs were less clear, and the team will look for grip through the Esses to stay in range on Saturday.
Red Bull’s times were the outlier. Verstappen and Hadjar did not convert the new parts into a late‑session jump. The laps did not match the front group on either the straights or the first sector. The team will comb through data on ride, balance, and energy use to find a step before qualifying.
Work overnight will focus on energy deployment plans, tire preparation, and balance through the S‑curves. The margins look small at the front. Single‑lap energy use and the Esses will be decisive when the field turns up the power on Saturday.