The action in Tokyo continues at full throttle, and with that, the last of the three practice sessions comes to an end. Thrilling on-track moments, mixed with changing weather conditions, have made the Japanese weekend especially challenging so far. However, Sunday started with sunny and humid conditions and seems set to stay dry, as Pascal Wehrlein topped the timesheets with only half a second separating the top ten drivers.
This 40-minute practice was the first dry session since Friday afternoon, and the drivers got out on track as early as possible. Heating up the tyres and brakes to get them into the proper window and maximising their potential while collecting important data was crucial for the teams to prepare the setup for later.
The session was quite calm, and the drivers behaved themselves without any significant problems. Sam Bird was the first – though not the only one – to have a big moment through the chicane leading into Turn 15, which has proven tricky throughout the weekend with many driver errors.
TAG Heuer showed strong pace this session, especially with Pascal Wehrlein, who topped the timesheets with a time of 1:12.011. Similarly to the German team, Mahindra Racing also appeared competitive. Both Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara maintained their positions within the top ten for the whole practice. Having secured only one podium this season, the team is hoping for a strong result.
The surprise of the session was Oliver Rowland. The championship leader ended his session in P22 after a moment at Turn 15 just as the chequered flag was waved, denying him a chance to improve his time. António Félix da Costa had a moment at Turn 16 a few seconds later as a yellow flag emerged briefly ending the session.
The grid is now ready for the first proper qualifying session of the weekend, followed by the feature race later on. The radar suggests dry conditions, but that doesn’t mean the action won’t be interesting. Nineteen drivers were within a second of each other, and many teams are in the mix for the top spots – meaning fine margins and every small mistake will be crucial in qualifying. So, make sure to tune in, because you definitely don’t want to miss it.