The results of the first Tokyo Free Practice were music to the ears of the home crowd, as Nissan's drivers delivered in a tight session on the streets of Japan.
It was Norman Nato, however, who topped FP1 with 1m12.152s, which will be an exciting development for a Nissan team aiming for a Drivers' and Teams' clean sweep come the end of the season. Oliver Rowland came in third with 1m12.469s, the teammates sandwiching DS PENSKE Maximilian Guenther on 1m12.430s.
TAG Heuer Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein pipped Stoffel Vandoorne of Maserati MSG Racing to fourth by just under half a second, while CUPRA KIRO's Dan Ticktum managed sixth, beating Lucas Di Grassi's Lola Yamaha ABT by a slim 0.056 seconds.
As it happened...
The drivers were keen to get underway before the forecast rain swept in, with FP1 potentially the only dry weather practice session of the double-header weekend.
They needn't have worried, as the rain held off even with a delay after 15 minutes due to an incident that we could see again before the end of the weekend. Taylor Barnard was the unlucky driver who proved why tricky Turn 17 is one to watch, with an overcorrection that ended his FP1 and limited some priceless track time.
After a mercifully dry delay, it was back to business, with Mitch Evans and Antonio Felix da Costa leading the Rowland chasing pack and Nato in fourth at the halfway stage.
As many of the teams switched to full power in the second half of the session, it was clear the varying road surfaces will be a test of drivers' skills on the wheel, and Nato proved the most proficient, sealing the fastest lap.
Despite some torque balance issues which threatened to spoil Rowland's day, the British driver managed to weather the challenge and finish just ahead of a resurgent Wehrlein.
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