SUZUKA, Japan (Reuters) – Red Bull were once again fastest in the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, with Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen topping the charts ahead of team mate Sergio Perez and George Russell of Mercedes in the final session before qualifying.
Verstappen had also set the fastest time in Friday’s first free practice session but the Dutchman opted to sit out the rain-hit second session.
The 26-year-old, who is chasing a third straight victory in Japan, lapped the Suzuka circuit with a best time of one minute 29.563 seconds on the soft tyres on an overcast but dry day.
Perez was 0.269 off the pace in second, with Russell 0.355 behind in third. Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton was fourth-fastest.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who finished in the top 6 on Friday, were seventh and 10th respectively, with Leclerc voicing his frustration over the team radio at the end of the session, saying: “What are we doing… come on!”
RB’s Daniel Ricciardo spun off the track in the final session, and finished in 13th, again behind his less experienced team mate Yuki Tsunoda up in 9th.
The pressure is on Ricciardo to keep his seat with highly regarded reserve driver Liam Lawson waiting in the wings.
(Reporting by John Geddie and Aadi Nair; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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