The Japanese Grand Prix's first free practice session concluded with three different teams in the top-three and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel leading the pack.
Vettel headed title rival Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.
Japanese Grand Prix - Free Practice 1 results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:29.166s | 23 | |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:29.377s | + 0.211s | 29 |
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:29.541s | + 0.375s | 27 |
| 4 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:29.638s | + 0.472s | 22 |
| 5 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:30.151s | + 0.985s | 30 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:30.762s | + 1.596s | 26 |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1:30.899s | + 1.733s | 22 |
| 8 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 1:30.974s | + 1.808s | 24 |
| 9 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:31.032s | + 1.866s | 22 |
| 10 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1:31.202s | + 2.036s | 24 |
| 11 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:31.216s | + 2.050s | 15 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:31.235s | + 2.069s | 19 |
| 13 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:31.530s | + 2.364s | 23 |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1:31.602s | + 2.436s | 22 |
| 15 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:31.757s | + 2.591s | 22 |
| 16 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:31.912s | + 2.746s | 20 |
| 17 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:32.252s | + 3.086s | 14 |
| 18 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1:32.501s | + 3.335s | 18 |
| 19 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | 1:32.897s | + 3.731s | 29 |
| 20 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:33.397s | + 4.231s | 28 |
Drivers were greeted with a few drops of rain as the session got underway but that was pretty much all the skies delivered as the track remained dry for 90 minutes.
The uncertainty however prompted everyone to take to the track early on.
McLaren-Honda was understandably the team of choice for the Japanese fans judging by merchandise and colors in the grandstands.
Both Mercedes drivers committed to the new aero package which Hamilton had opted against last weekend in Sepang. The current leader of the world championship positioned himself at the top of the timesheet at the outset, followed by team mate Valtteri Bottas.
But the supersoft-shod Daniel Ricciardo quickly took over, producing a lap well under the current lap record of 1:31.540s set by Kimi Raikkonen in 2005.
Ferrari progressively ramped up its speed with Sebastian Vettel positioning himself second while the track suddenly got crowded as rain was forecasted once again.
Suzuka once again demonstrated there is no room for error when almost sixty minutes into the session, Carlos Sainz lost it on the exit of the Turn 11 hairpin as he dropped a rear wheel onto the grass.
The mishap brought out the red flag and left the Toro Rosso heavily damaged. It was an efficient clean-up however by the marshals and the session resumed after a short delay.
Sebastian Vettel jumped to the order with a lap in 1:29.166 which would remain the morning's best time as few drivers improved in the last twenty minutes of the crash-interrupted session.
Proceedings will resume at 2PM local time but the weather is still uncertain so we'll be watching the skies.
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