The Singapore GP a week ago was the exception, where Verstappen finished seventh. “To be honest, I’m not really thinking about it too much.” Verstappen has been dominant all season with 11 victories in 17 races. “It would be very nice if it happens here but if it doesn’t happen here - I will be even more in favor the next race,” Verstappen said, sounding unmoved by the speculation. If not, it’s sure to be settled in two weeks at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. He could also win the season title with a lesser result, depending on how others finish. If Verstappen wins on Sunday, and also picks up the bonus point for the fastest lap, that would give him 26 points (25 for the win, 1 for the quickest lap) and he’s the champion. Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez is 106 behind.

“I think realistically Max is going to be a champion, if it’s not this weekend it’s going to be very, very soon,” said Leclerc, who trails Verstappen by 104 points with five races to go - including Suzuka. The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton had a disappointing session with finishes outside the tenth position.įormula 1 spending-cap ruling coming as drivers at Suzuka weigh in George Russell led a Mercedes one-two in a rain-hit FP-2 at Suzuka, with team mate Lewis Hamilton coming in seocnd and championship leader Max Verstappen finishing third.Ĭarlos Sainz was the sixth fastest, while Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc set a time good enough for only 11th.Īlfa Romeo had a good FP2, with Valtteri Bottas – winner at Sukuza in 2019 – eighth quickest, with team mate Zhou Guanyu, in 10th.įernando Alonso led the pack during a rain-hampered FP1 session for the Japanese Grand Prix, as he put his Alpine ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.Ĭhampionship leader Max Verstappen was sixth, while his teammate Sergio Perez ended tenth.

The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished sixth and seventh respectively. Verstappen’s teammate and Singapore Grand Prix winner from last week, Sergio Perez finished fifth behind Alpine’s Fernando Alonso. Max Verstappen, who could potentially seal a second consecutive world title tomorrow, topped Free Practice 3 ahead of the qualifying session in dry weather conditions.Ĭarlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari finished second and third respectively. The crowd cheers on as Tsunoda sets the early mark. Local boy Tsunoda of AlphaTauri is one of the first to start early.

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