Formula 1 drivers did little meaningful running in the second practice session at Suzuka as damp conditions meant they covered few if any laps.
With several drivers not wishing to use up their limited dry tyres in damp conditions, there were no representative lap times set over the hour.McLaren’s Oscar Piastri set the fastest time out of the nine drivers to complete a timed lap. Seven drivers, including both Red Bulls and Aston Martins, did not leave the garage at all.
Another driver who did not leave the garage was Logan Sargeant, for a different reason. The heavy damage sustained to his Williams in the opening practice session meant he was never going to take part in the session. However, team mate Alexander Albon also did not set a timed lap throughout the hour.
While the conditions remained safe enough for drivers to run, no one chose to push either on intermediates or on slick tyres. Piastri’s 1’34.725 was the quickest time of the hour, but significantly slower than Max Verstappen’s best from the earlier session.
Lewis Hamilton was half a second slower than Piastri with soft tyres, while Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was third fastest, four seconds slower than Piastri’s best. The RB pairing of Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo were the highest placed drivers to have set their best times on the intermediate tyres, in fourth and fifth respectively, while Lando Norris was sixth for McLaren.
Australian Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz Jnr was seventh for Ferrari ahead of Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen in nithh. The two Sauber drivers, Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas, Williams’ Albon and Nico Hulkenberg all had multiple runs but did not complete a timed lap throughout the session.
Weather forecasts currently indicate a maximum 20% chance of rain for Saturday. There is a higher 40% risk for rain to impact Sunday’s race day, however the forecasters appear to have reduced the likelihood of rain compared what was expected heading into the weekend.
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2024 Japanese Grand Prix second practice result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’34.725 | 7 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W15 | 1’35.226 | 0.501 | 6 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’38.760 | 4.035 | 4 |
| 4 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’40.946 | 6.221 | 8 |
| 5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’41.913 | 7.188 | 9 |
| 6 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | No time | 7 | |
| 7 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | No time | 7 | |
| 8 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | No time | 5 | |
| 9 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | No time | 4 | |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | No time | 5 | |
| 11 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | No time | 3 | |
| 12 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | No time | 3 | |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | A524 | No time | 3 |
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2024 Japanese Grand Prix
- “Am I in a race here or what?”: How Ferrari aced their Suzuka strategies
- Suzuka showed Mercedes “have a more stable platform” now
- Ferrari’s strategy gains in 2024 are “purely down to the car” – Sainz
- Tsunoda ‘at Verstappen and Alonso’s level’ with Suzuka performance – Marko
- Japan was first race where Red Bull’s winning margin was bigger than last year
Asd
5th April 2024, 10:02
So, they don’t even bother trying out the wet conditions, working on a wet set-up, or letting the drivers practice driving in slippery conditions? What is this??
This is a pathetic state of affairs.
MichaelN
5th April 2024, 10:21
It’s unfortunate for the fans, but apparently the teams expect no repeat of rain in the later sessions. Which might be a bit presumptuous looking at the forecast, but either way, with Suzuka being a bit of a risky track at the best of times it’s perhaps not laudable, but at least understandable, why some teams would prefer not to go out.
Mayrton
5th April 2024, 13:06
Knowing they will red flag in case of rain in the race, what’s the use?
MacLeod (@macleod)
5th April 2024, 13:17
Sunday was rain expected but new information it will be warm and bone dry on Sunday so they didn’t need the info on wet surface at all.
Asanator (@asanator)
5th April 2024, 14:11
It wasn’t really wet enough for any useful running. Would just have destroyed a set of Inters in no time so not worth it when they may need them for quali and the race.
RR
5th April 2024, 10:15
I do hope Piastri saves the best till Q3 tomorrow.
Marcus (@marcusw)
5th April 2024, 12:11
I’m hoping we get more rain for quali tomorrow now. Not too much of course, but enough to make those who sat out P2 regret missing out on some wet running practice.
MacLeod (@macleod)
5th April 2024, 13:19
But your setup must be for Sunday as it will be dry even if it rains on Saterday.
notagrumpyfan
5th April 2024, 13:31
Let’s hope for rain on Sunday as well; weather forecast changed before, it can change again.
sumedh
5th April 2024, 12:21
I saw the highlights on the youtube channel. Most drivers who went out said it was dry. But they still didn’t want to run? Why? Save dry tyres?
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
5th April 2024, 14:10
The reason for the lack of running was apparently due to a rule change for this year that takes away the ‘free’ set of wet/inter tires they used to get for Friday running.
So with rain expected later into the weekend most of them were reluctant to use up a set of tires they are likely to need later in the weekend.