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Vettel heads Hamilton in Japanese GP FP1

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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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.