Formula 1: Liam Lawson 13th fastest on Racing Bulls return, opening practice for Japanese Grand Prix

Liam Lawson enjoyed a solid if not unspectacular start to Formula One’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, clocking the 13th fastest time in the weekend’s opening practice session. A week on from officially being demoted by Red Bull , and back with sister side Racing Bulls for the first time since last season’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Lawson’s best effort of 1m 29.539s was 0.

987s off the fastest time of the first session, set by McLaren’s Lando Norris. Accepting that teams trial different things during practice, including tyres, fuel loads and aerodynamic configurations, Lawson looked untroubled in his 27 laps on track. For reference, Lawson’s best effort was 0.



172s quicker than Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who was 1.159s off the pace after winning the Chinese Grand Prix last month. Only Mercedes’ George Russell, who set the second fastest time of the session with 1m 28.

712s, recorded more laps than Lawson, getting around Suzuka 28 times..