Ferrari Fans at 2025 Japanese GP

Formula 1 News: 2025 Japanese GP Friday Practice Quotes

All ten Formula 1 teams plus tire supplier Pirelli provided quotes after practice Friday for the 2025 Japanese GP at Suzuka.

McLaren

Lando Norris – FP1: 1:28.549, P1; FP2: 1:28.163, P2

“A good first day back on track. It takes a little bit of time to get back in the rhythm of things around here because it’s so quick, but the car is in a reasonable place. We’ll work together overnight to make some changes going into tomorrow, but I’m feeling positive.”

Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on track during practice ahead of the F1 Japanese GP at Suzuka Circuit on April 04, 2025 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images)

Oscar Piastri – FP1: 1:29.708, P15; FP2: 1:28.114, P1

“It’s been a bit of an up-and-down day but there’s definitely been positives in there. We’ve got a few things to tidy up for tomorrow. FP2 was a pretty stop-start session, which made it tricky to go through everything but there were still some good learnings. A couple of tweaks and we’ll be good to go.”

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

“It’s been a relatively productive day of practice here in Suzuka, despite the second session having been interrupted by a few Red Flags for different reasons. We are all relieved to see that Jack Doohan could walk away from what was a big crash, which left us worried for a few seconds.

“Overall, we would have liked to have taken a bit more of a look at the behavior of the tires, but it’s the same for everyone, so we will now try to put together all of the information we have acquired to be prepared for Qualifying and the race.”

Mercedes

George Russell – FP1: 1:28.712, P2; FP2: 1:28.567, P6

“Firstly, it’s good to see that Jack (Doohan) was OK after his accident. That was a very big crash and hopefully he’ll be able to get back out in the car tomorrow morning.

“From our side, we had a positive day. The car has been handling nicely, although we know the forecast wind change tomorrow will have an impact. McLaren once again looks very strong, and there were several other teams that were competitive on the single lap. It’s unusual to see so many teams so close together so we will have to be at our best to be competing near the front. If we do the job we know we can do though, I’m confident that we can be in the fight for the front two rows in Qualifying.

“Given the interrupted FP2, we still have a few unknowns heading into the race on Sunday. We were only able to complete four laps on the Hard tire. We therefore have little data to work with in terms of degradation, and any possible graining, on that compound. There is also a threat of rain for race day which could make things interesting. The important thing for Friday though is that we were competitive on the timing screens and that gives us a good platform to build on.”

George Russell 2025 Japanese GP, Friday – LAT Images

Kimi Antonelli – FP1: 1:29.284, P9; FP2: 1:29.733, P16

“This is my first time at Suzuka and it’s an amazing track to drive! I enjoyed myself out there and I’m looking forward to building my confidence more and more as we head through the weekend. FP1 was a solid session for us, and I was able to put together some decent laps. FP2 was much more disrupted, and a little messy on my side. I wasn’t able to get a clean lap, and I didn’t get the most out of the car in sector one. We will work on that overnight, analyze the data, and come back stronger tomorrow.

“There are definitely promising signs for us. George did a good job all day and was consistently near the front of the field. The balance of the car also feels good, and I know there is more that I can extract from it. I’m looking forward to getting back out there in FP3 and using that to build positively into Qualifying.”

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

“Today was a decent start to our Japanese Grand Prix weekend. We got a look at all three tire compounds, evaluate the resurfaced first sector, and got a good read on the car balance. George was up to speed immediately and delivered some competitive lap times on the single lap in FP1 and had what looked like a solid long run. FP2 was a much more disrupted hour with four red flags so there wasn’t as much we could learn.

“For Kimi, this is his first time in Suzuka. It’s a track that requires commitment and confidence and he’s been steadily building both through the day. No doubt he’ll be able to make another step tomorrow and fingers cross we’ll have a clean session without so many red flags in FP3.

“The wind will turn through 180° for tomorrow which tends to have a big impact on the balance here, but we can assess that on the simulator overnight and look at any changes that are required to rebalance. Added to that, there is a risk of rain on Sunday. McLaren still look like the ones to beat but it’s been an encouraging start to the weekend. Hopefully we’ll be in a position to fight for the podium on Sunday.”

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc – FP1: 1:28.965, P3; FP2: 1:28.586, P7

“It was a constructive day, we tried many different set-ups throughout the practice sessions and I feel that I learned a lot about our car and how we can extract the most from it in the upcoming races. We didn’t put everything together, with multiple red flags and traffic interrupting FP2, but I think that our performance is better than it is on paper right now. It will be interesting to see how the change in conditions, in particular in terms of the wind direction, will affect tomorrow’s sessions.”

Charles Leclerc at 2025 Japanese GP. Photo Supplied by Ferrari
Charles Leclerc at 2025 Japanese GP. Photo Supplied by Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton – FP1: 1:29.051, P4; FP2: 1:28.544, P4

“Overall it was a positive day. This is an incredible track and the first sector feels great – you can really push there, especially with the new surface. In FP1 the balance wasn’t as good as it could have been, but we made strong progress between sessions and I’m happy with the direction we took. There’s still some work to do overnight, and with the weather set to change, we’ll need to stay focussed – but we’re in a good position and I’m excited to see what we can do. It was amazing seeing so many of my fans in red, which I’m really grateful for and I hope I can bring them some good results this weekend!”