Japanese GP 2022 - FP1: El Plan Works In The Rain Too

After two seasons of silence, Suzuka got its roaring engines back, as F1 returned for the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix! A rainy Friday morning saw Fernando Alonso topping the session, followed by Carlos Sainz in P2 and Charles Leclerc in P3.

One of F1's most iconic and full-of-history tracks is back in the calendar, as Suzuka made its comeback this morning for the Japanese GP. Full wet conditions, with the drivers switching to the intermediate tyre with approximately 20' left to the session.

Fernando Alonso topped the first session of the Japanese GP weekend, followed by the two Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in P2 and P3, respectively.

Alpine's Esteban Ocon placed his car on P4, followed by Kevin Magnussen in P5 and Max Verstappen in P6. Mick Schumacher in P7 and Lando Norris in P8, who reported some loss of power, an issue that was quickly resolved.

Completing the top 10, Valtteri Bottas finished 9th, ahead of Sergio Perez in P10.

Mick Schumacher had a rather heavy crash at the end of the session, while he was returning to the pits, as the conditions proved to be very tricky for the German. Driver ok and out of the car, but the Haas mechanics will have a lot of work to do, in order to get Schumacher's car ready for FP2. Speaking of FP2, there won't be any more rain coming during the weekend, so expect a drying, or even dry session in a few hours.

Full FP1 Classification: