Japanese Grand Prix: Friday Practice Recap
April 5, 2024
Round 4 of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship began with Friday practice at the Suzuka International Circuit as teams prepared for Sunday’s 53-lap Japanese Grand Prix.
FP1 was held in chilly conditions – notably the first time Formula 1 has raced in Suzuka during cherry blossom season. MoneyGram Haas F1 Team ran a split strategy to start the opening session opting for the Pirelli P Zero Yellow Medium tire on Nico Hulkenberg’s VF-24 with Kevin Magnussen’s entry utilizing the White hard rubber. Both cars pitted for the Red soft compound, but their first timed lap was curtailed by the Williams of Logan Sargeant crashing at the exit of Turn 7, bringing out a red flag.
Once action resumed, both drivers left the garage on their used set of the softs, as Hulkenberg decided to switch focus to high-fuel running, Magnussen continuing his original run plan. Hulkenberg posted a 1:31.958 (P13) while Magnussen recorded a 1:32.803 (P19).
Showers throughout the afternoon meant that when the light turned green for FP2, no car was in a hurry to leave pitlane. Magnussen and Hulkenberg left the garage in the last 10 minutes of the session – both on softs for exploratory laps. Magnussen then bolted on a set of Cinturato Green intermediate tires to run to the checkered flag, while Hulkenberg returned to the garage to refuel before heading back out to finish the session on the same tire – neither recording a lap time.
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team ran a total of 49 laps on Friday across FP1 and FP2 – 25 by Magnussen with 24 from Hulkenberg.
Nico Hulkenberg:
“FP1 was good, it didn’t feel too bad in the car, but I think our expectations going in to this weekend is that it’s going to be a tricky track for us with the high-speeds and fast change in direction. It’s a shame about the weather, especially for the fans as they’re so enthusiastic in Suzuka. They show so much love and support, and for us not to be able to give them a full show feels a bit sad, so I’m sorry about that. In FP2 it wasn’t really wet or dry, it was the worst session for Formula 1 cars. Hopefully we can find some performance overnight, but we need to see what we can do in terms of runs and timing.”
Kevin Magnussen:
“I don’t think we started the day off well with the balance, we had lots of understeer and tried to correct it during FP1. We probably needed a bigger set-up change, so we changed the rear wing and a few other things as well, so I would’ve loved to have tried that out in FP2, but the session got rained on. It was too dry to go out on inters, and too wet to go out on dry tires – so it resulted in no running. Hopefully FP3 can be dry tomorrow before qualifying, and if that’s the case, there will be no issues.”
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:
“Overall, I’d say it’s as I expected. We’re struggling with Sector 1 a little bit, because it’s a high-speed sequence of corners. We wanted to test a couple of things but with the weather and so on we haven’t been able to do it. We have a bit to work on tonight in terms of car balance – to look for better qualifying and race pace. I’d say we’re in a similar situation to Australia, if we get the car balance right, the set-up right, I think our race could be more competitive than our qualifying. But still, in qualifying tomorrow our focus is to try and get into Q2 with both cars.”
Today's Data
Event: Free Practice 1 & 2 for the Japanese Grand Prix – Friday April 5
Location: Suzuka International Circuit, Suzuka
Layout: 5.807-kilometer (3.608-mile), 18-turn circuit
FP1 & FP2 Weather: Cloudy/Showers
Drivers: Nico Hulkenberg & Kevin Magnussen
Free Practice 1 (FP1) Rundown:
Hulkenberg: 13th overall (1:31.958), 19 laps
Magnussen: 19th overall (1:32.803), 21 laps
Fastest: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:30.056)
Free Practice 2 (FP2) Rundown:
Magnussen: 9th overall (No Time Set), 4 laps
Hulkenberg: 10th overall (No Time Set), 5 laps
Fastest: Oscar Piastri of McLaren (1:34.725)