Max Verstappen (Red Bull) set the best time in the first free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix. The three-time world champion beat his Mexican teammate Sergio Pérez and Spaniard Carlos Sainz by 181 and 213 thousandths respectively.
The Mercedes of Britons George Russell and Lewis Hamilton took fourth and fifth places, ahead of the other Ferrari of Monegasque Charles Leclerc. The session was marked by the high speed exit of the American Logan Sargeant, which slightly damaged his Williams.