The second free practice session (FP2) of the 2026 F1 Japanese Grand Prix was held at Suzuka Circuit.
George Russell had set the pace in FP1, but the picture changed in FP2 as Oscar Piastri went fastest.
At the same time, several teams suffered reliability issues, making this a session that affected preparation across the grid.
■Key Points
・Piastri topped FP2 as McLaren showed strong pace
・Mercedes remained consistent, with Russell and Antonelli staying near the top
・Norris and Perez lost running because of technical problems
│ Result
| Pos | Team | Driver | Time (Gap) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Oscar Piastri | 1:30.133 |
| 2 |  | Kimi Antonelli | +0.092 |
| 3 | | George Russell | +0.205 |
| 4 | | Lando Norris | +0.516 |
| 5 |  | Charles Leclerc | +0.713 |
| 6 | | Lewis Hamilton | +0.847 |
| 7 |  | Nico Hulkenberg | +1.308 |
| 8 |  | Alex Albon | +1.363 |
| 9 |  | Oliver Bearman | +1.365 |
| 10 |  | Max Verstappen | +1.376 |
| 11 | | Esteban Ocon | +1.399 |
| 12 |  | Liam Lawson | +1.457 |
| 13 | | Carlos Sainz | +1.475 |
| 14 |  | Pierre Gasly | +1.601 |
| 15 | | Isack Hadjar | +1.626 |
| 16 | | Gabriel Bortoleto | +1.80 |
| 17 | | Franco Colapinto | +2.305 |
| 18 |  | Valtteri Bottas | +2.482 |
| 19 |  | Fernando Alonso | +3.463 |
| 20 | | Sergio Perez | +3.556 |
| 21 | | Lance Stroll | +3.818 |
| 22 | | Arvid Lindblad | - |
│Times Recap
Late in the session, Oscar Piastri set a 1:30.133.
That lap put him at the top of the timesheets, and it remained the fastest time of FP2.
Kimi Antonelli finished second, while George Russell was third.
Mercedes, which had secured a 1-2 in FP1, maintained solid pace again in FP2.
McLaren, however, delivered a clear response.
Piastri moved to the top and underlined the team’s competitiveness.
Lando Norris, on the other hand, lost time because of a hydraulic issue.
He eventually recovered to fourth, but he was unable to complete enough laps.
Ferrari also remained in the leading group, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finishing near the front.
However, both drivers were still some distance away from the fastest time.
In the midfield, Nico Hulkenberg finished seventh and showed the potential of Audi.
At the same time, reliability concerns became one of the main stories of the session.
Gabriel Bortoleto stopped on track during the session, while Arvid Lindblad was barely able to run at all.
Sergio Perez also lost valuable time as repairs to his car took longer than expected, leaving him with limited data collection.
Alex Albon also suffered a throttle-related issue during the session.
In the closing stages, the field switched to long runs and practice starts, bringing Friday running to an end.
Overall, the picture that is starting to emerge is one of Mercedes showing strong consistency, while McLaren challenges with outright pace over a single lap.
At the same time, several teams are still dealing with reliability problems, leaving some uncertainty heading into qualifying and the race.