The Red Bull driver was 0.626 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with McLaren’s Lando Norris third. Verstappen, in a car expected to suit the Suzuka track perfectly, was in a league of his own throughout the session, from a first lap that was more than a second clear of the other cars of the field at the time. His first flying lap was nearly two seconds faster than that of team-mate Sergio Perez, out on the track at the same time. The only driver to perform similarly was Alonso, who went second in the early stages, 1.3secs behind Verstappen. On his second lap, Verstappen was still two seconds ahead of Perez, and again Alonso went with him in terms of progress, this time 1.1secs behind the Red Bull and still second fastest.

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