World champions McLaren have moved ahead of championship leaders Mercedes in early 2026, with Oscar Piastri leading the timesheets for Friday’s second free practice at the Japanese Grand Prix.
They were off the pace in the first two race weekends of the new F1 era, with neither car getting a race start last time out in China, but McLaren looked much more competitive in the first practice session at Suzuka.
After keeping Mercedes close behind in the first practice session of the day, the two-time reigning constructors’ champion took the lead in the second hour of practice.
Piastri set the pace with a time of 1:30.133, finishing 0.092 seconds faster than Kimi Antonelli and 0.205 seconds faster than world championship leader George Russell, who was in first place in the first practice.
Sky Sports F1’s Bernie Collins said: “McLaren has taken a step forward.” “They seem to be getting pretty close to Mercedes.”
Oscar Piastri takes the lead in his second practice session of the year
Lando Norris, in the other McLaren, was in fourth place, 4.5 seconds behind, but missed most of the first half of the session due to a hydraulic leak in his car. The world champion experienced two off-track moments during his 16 laps on the track, first at the spoon and then at the chicane.
However, Norris’ compromised session was enough for him to finish ahead of Mercedes’ closest challenger, Ferrari, over the opening two race weekends.
The Scuderia drivers finished more than 0.7 seconds off their pace here on the first day, with Charles Leclerc fifth and Lewis Hamilton sixth.
Hamilton was just 0.134 seconds slower than Leclerc in his short run on soft tyres, but later said on the team radio at the end of the race simulation: “I don’t have confidence in the car so it’s very slow.”
But Red Bull, who have won the last four Japanese GPs with Max Verstappen, once again appeared to have a far more serious pace problem.
After finishing the first session 0.7 seconds off the pace, Red Bull’s lead increased to nearly 1.4 seconds in the second session, with Verstappen in 10th and Izak Hajar in 15th. The RB22 was upgraded this weekend, but both drivers seemed to struggle with grip on the acrobatic layout.
As in China, Red Bull were surrounded by a midfield, with Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg finishing seventh, Williams’ Alex Albon eighth and Haas’ Oliver Bearman ninth.
Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad finished the first session in 10th place on his debut race at Suzuka before being limited to just one lap in the second round due to gearshift issues. Audi’s Gabriel Bortleto was only able to complete 10 laps due to a problem with his car.
Is McLaren back in business?
Two weeks after a shock technical problem with Mercedes’ power unit prevented both cars from starting the race in Shanghai, McLaren arrived in Japan looking to add momentum to its world title defense.
And despite not introducing any aerodynamic updates to the car, unlike Red Bull or Ferrari, Piastri looked confident in tackling the sweep of Suzuka, especially from the early stages.
“We’re encouraged by what we’ve seen from McLaren,” said Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok.
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Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and George Russell reflect on Friday’s practice for the Japanese Grand Prix.
“I believe Lando’s session was marred by hydraulic issues early on.
“We’ll see when it comes to FP3 and qualifying. Lewis Hamilton said in China that he knows Mercedes will be a notch better in Q2 and Q3.”
Mercedes’ pace in the race simulation late in the session was also more indicative of their expected advantage over McLaren and the rest of the field, although the one-lap speed of their Papaya rival caught the eye.
“The McLaren was pretty quick,” Russell admitted.
“To be honest, I was a little surprised. There are still some things to improve on, so we have some work to do overnight.”
Sky Sports F1 Japan GP Schedule
Saturday, March 28th
2:15am: Japanese GP Practice 3 (session starts at 2:30am)*
5am: Japanese GP qualifying build-up*
6am: Japanese GP Qualifying*
8am: Ted’s Qualification Notes*
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A look back at the wildest moments captured by in-car cameras at the Japanese Grand Prix
Sunday, March 29th
4:30am: Preparations for the Japanese Grand Prix – Grand Prix Sunday*
6am: Japanese Grand Prix*
8am: Japanese GP reaction – checkered flag*
9am: Ted’s Notes*
*The main event will also be broadcast live on Sky Sports
F1 will be at the iconic Suzuka Circuit this weekend for the Japanese Grand Prix, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
