Japanese GP: Lewis Hamilton 'figuring out' Suzuka breakthrough as Ferrari trail McLaren after Friday running
Lewis Hamilton was sixth in both Friday practice sessions at the Japanese Grand Prix, while McLaren appear to be pole position contenders against Mercedes; watch final practice at 2.30am ahead of Qualifying at 6am live on Sky Sports F1 and Main Event on Saturday
Friday 27 March 2026 09:27, UK
Lewis Hamilton admits he is "figuring out" his Ferrari car but sees a "north star" after a challenging Friday at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Hamilton was eight tenths adrift of second practice pace-setter Oscar Piastri and visibly struggled with oversteer throughout the day at Suzuka, as did Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Towards the end of the session, during the long runs, Hamilton stated he had "no confidence" in the car but was more optimistic afterwards when discussing his hopes for Saturday's Qualifying at 6am, live on Sky Sports.
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"Interestingly it's something in how this car is set up. There are some similarities to what I felt last year, so we are working on that," he said.
"I'm confident overnight we can find something and get it into a better place. It's an awesome circuit but you need to be able to sit in the rear and be comfortable [that] it will stay with you and today I had the snaps. Just can't seem to match the other guys.
"We will do a deeper dive tonight, get some interesting readings from the simulator. I feel I've got a bit of a north star, it's just how we get there, so I'm going to try to figure that out."
Russell 'surprised' by McLaren pace
Championship leader George Russell was two tenths behind Piastri in second practice as he looks to return to winning ways after losing out to team-mate Kimi Antonelli in China.
Russell, who has a four-point lead over Antonelli in the Drivers' Championship, confirmed Mercedes have more speed to come but was impressed by McLaren.
"McLaren were pretty fast. A little bit of a surprise. Still some improvements we need to do, so a bit of work to do tonight," he said.
"Lando had a disrupted day but Oscar was on it from the first lap out of the box. We have got some more to give and things were not quite optimised, especially on my side with the energy management."
Piastri added: "We know there's still work to do, and it's clear that some of our competitors, especially Mercedes, are very strong.
"However, the focus is on our own performance. We hope to build on the progress from today and carry that momentum forward to be even more competitive."
It was not all positive at McLaren though as Lando Norris suffered a hydraulics leak which cost him 20 minutes in second practice.
Norris admits he's on the "back foot" with no long run at the end of the day, and could only go fourth with his best lap, despite theoretically better track conditions.
"A pretty bad day from our side, just not a lot of laps. Not the way you want things to go at the minute especially because you're just learning with every lap you can still do and I'm lacking a lot of laps," said the reigning world champion.
"Not the best start but got a night off to look at things and try and fix some things for tomorrow."
Verstappen expecting 'no miracles'
Red Bull's trouble start to 2026 continued as Max Verstappen was 10th and 1.4 seconds off the pace, suggesting he will be fighting just to make Q3 at Suzuka.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit brought new sidepods, floor and engine cover to the Japanese Grand Prix but it does not appear to have improved their competitiveness.
"Just lacking balance and grip - two opposites from FP1 to FP2. Both of them not very good," said Verstappen, who has converted pole position into victory at the last four Japanese Grands Prix.
"From our side, a lot of work to be done to understand why we are having these kind of big problems at the moment. Not a good day. You try to crack one thing, then get another one [problem] but never find a good balance.
"It's very difficult to solve, so I don't expect miracles overnight. We just need to understand our issues a bit more - where they are coming from."
Sky Sports F1's Japanese GP schedule
Saturday March 28
2.15am: Japanese GP Practice Three (session starts at 2.30am)*
5am: Japanese GP Qualifying build-up*
6am: JAPANESE GP QUALIFYING*
8am: Ted's Qualifying Notebook*
Sunday March 29
4.30am: Japanese GP build-up - Grand Prix Sunday*
6am: THE JAPANESE GRAND PRIX*
8am: Japanese GP reaction - Chequered Flag*
9am: Ted's Notebook*
*Also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 heads to the iconic Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
