Oscar Piastri from Australia took the lead in the second practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix for McLaren. The session was affected by rain, resulting in limited running on the track. In the final moments, Piastri drove his MCL38 car to the front with a time of 1:36.862s on Soft tires. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc followed closely behind, completing the top three positions. The rain caused the teams to hesitate in sending their cars out on the track, as the conditions were too cold and damp for slick tires but not wet enough for intermediate tires. It took 15 minutes for the first car to appear on the track. Mercedes, with Hamilton driving on the Medium compound, was the first to brave the conditions, but Hamilton returned to the garage after a single installation lap. Daniel Ricciardo, who had sat out the opening session, also made a return to the track along with Yuki Tsunoda. The two drivers ended up at the top of the timesheets, with Tsunoda setting a time of 1:40.946s. Piastri, the Sauber drivers, and Alex Albon in the standalone Williams car also ventured out on the track. However, only the Red Bull drivers registered lap times, as the other drivers did not complete a timed lap. Sauber attempted to send both cars out on the track in the final 10 minutes on the Hard compound, but they drove slowly and returned to the pits. Haas tried the Softest tire brought by Pirelli for the Suzuka race, but the temperature was too cool for the tires to perform optimally. Eventually, the track conditions improved, allowing several drivers to complete late-timed runs on slick tires. Piastri surpassed Tsunoda’s initial time, and Hamilton secured the second position. Carlos Sainz chose to stay in the garage, but Charles Leclerc went out in the Ferrari and pushed the Red Bull drivers down to fourth and fifth place.
Max Verstappen has surpassed Lewis Hamilton once again following his victory at the Emilia Romagna GP. These two drivers have been the most prominent figures in Formula 1...
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