Max Verstappen set the third fastest time in the second free practice for the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday. The Limburger only had to tolerate Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Nicholas Latifi created a remarkable moment during practice by taking the wrong turn.
By our sports editorsVerstappen was almost a second slower than Russell, who came to a time of 1.41.935. The Briton was the fastest in training, in which his teammate Hamilton set the second time with 1.42.170.
The 25-year-old Verstappen came to a time of 1.42.786. He also completed significantly more laps than in the first practice, in which Fernando Alonso was surprisingly the fastest. In that session, Verstappen completed four laps, twenty less than in the second practice.
Mick Schumacher was missing in the second training session. After the first practice, the German crashed hard when he wanted to drive back to the pits. Schumacher, 23, was able to get out unharmed, but his car was badly damaged.
Unfortunately this content cannot be displayedWe do not have permission for the necessary cookies. Please accept the cookies to view this content.
Latifi takes wrong turn
Latifi provided the most striking moment during the second training session. The 27-year-old Canadian, who will leave Formula 1 after this season, steered too early into a strip that was not the entrance of a corner at all.
Over the onboard radio, Latifi stated that the mistake was due to a technical fault with his car, but the Williams driver was able to continue. He recorded the twelfth time in the training, which lasted half an hour longer than usual.
Initially, the training was extended by a Pirelli tire test to gather feedback for next season. The test was canceled due to the wet track. Nevertheless, the race management decided not to shorten the training.
Saturday at 5 a.m. (Dutch time) there will be another drive at Suzuka, where Verstappen can secure his world title next weekend. The Limburger has everything in his own hands; if he scores eight points more than Charles Leclerc and six points ahead of Segio Perez, the world title can no longer escape him.
:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/7FHIBJNV7RHHPKYYTUSVEPNPUE.png?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1)
:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/FDW5HQQO65EMVH6G7QPI4SDR2M.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1)