Oscar Piastri tops rain-interrupted second practice

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri set the pace in the rain-interrupted second practice for the Japanese Grand Prix which only lasted one hour with many drivers opting to remain in the pits due to the poor weather.

The second practice session for the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix was essentially a sloppy affair due to the wet weather. Only 13 cars completed a meager total of 60 laps over the hour with just three cars completing indicative laps on slick tyres shortly before the conclusion.

Oscar Piastri finished first as McLaren had projected the ideal time to send him out. He recorded a time benchmark of 1:34.725 seconds, half a second ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc four seconds behind.

RB duo Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo were the top-placed drivers to record their best performances on the intermediate tyres, in fourth and fifth place, respectively while Lando Norris finished sixth in the sister McLaren.

Winner of the Australian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz Jr. finished seventh for Ferrari, ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in eighth and ninth place respectively. Meanwhile, Williams’ Alex Albon, Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg , and Sauber duo Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas each made several laps throughout the session but none managed a timed lap.

Williams team was required to replace a number of crucial components in Sargeant’s car after crashing during the first practice, therefore the driver did not take part in the afternoon session.

The limited track action means that teams will be putting more emphasis on final practice on Saturday morning ahead of qualifying. It is predicted that there will be more showers and rain over the weekend, with a 50% chance of a wet race on Sunday. Therefore, today’s soggy run may be a precursor to what is to come for the rest of the Suzuka weekend.

2024 Japanese Grand Prix FP2 Results