After losing his record F1 wins streak and Red Bull’s 100% victory run in 2023, Verstappen bounced back by topping both Friday practice sessions, going quickest in FP2 by 0.320s from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Lando Norris continued McLaren’s encouraging gains by taking third, ahead of Singapore GP winner Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari, as Mercedes’ Geroge Russell rounded out the top five.
But it was a difficult day for Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez who was a second off the pace down in ninth, as he struggled with car balance around Suzuka.
Lewis Hamilton also had a low-key day for Mercedes as he finished FP2 in 14th, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly caused an early end to the session after crashing at Degner 2.
Qualifying for the Japanese GP starts at 3pm local time (7am BST), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.
Date: Saturday 23 September 2023
Start time: 3pm local time – 7am BST