McLaren’s Oscar Piastri set the fastest time during the heavily disrupted second free practice session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix. The session featured four red flags, including one for a severe crash involving Alpine driver Jack Doohan.
After sitting out FP1 in favour of reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa, Doohan made an early appearance in the second session to maximise time on a circuit he last raced at in 2019. However, after completing only four laps, he lost control of his Alpine on the entry to Turn 1. He spun off at high speed and collided with the barriers, causing significant damage to the left and rear sides of his car. Despite sustaining minor injuries, Doohan quickly declared himself unhurt. However, the extensive repairs required to the barriers necessitated the session’s red flagging for over 20 minutes.
When the session resumed, it was only briefly interrupted. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso beached his car in the gravel at Turn 8, triggering another red flag. The session would be halted twice more before the hour’s end due to fires in dry grass areas at the track’s side, likely caused by sparks from cars bottoming out. Marshals had to attend to the incidents with extinguishers.
The disruptions resulted in a highly fragmented session, with McLaren’s Piastri and Lando Norris emerging as the top performers. Piastri set a best time of 1:28.114, securing the pole position by half a tenth of a second over Norris. Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls secured third place, four tenths behind Piastri.
Lewis Hamilton finished fifth for Ferrari, followed by the second Racing Bulls car of Liam Lawson and George Russell in sixth for Mercedes. Notably, many drivers were unable to complete a qualifying simulation on Soft tires, leaving the timesheet inconclusive.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:28.114
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:28.163 0.049
3 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:28.518 0.404
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:28.544 0.430 1
5 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:28.559 0.445
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:28.567 0.453
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:28.586 0.472
8 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:28.670 0.556
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:28.757 0.643
10 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:28.832 0.718
11 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:29.023 0.909
12 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:29.062 0.948
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:29.335 1.221
14 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:29.507 1.393
15 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:29.654 1.540
16 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:29.733 1.619
17 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:29.978 1.864
18 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:30.625 2.511
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:30.845 2.731
20 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 1:31.659 3.545 japan f1