Japanese GP: Bottas tops FP2 session that could decide grid
Valtteri Bottas survived spinning on the run to Suzuka’s start/finish straight to top second practice for Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Bottas was preparing to start the first flying lap of his qualifying simulation runs when he looped his W10 through the kink that follows the final chicane.
He continued but could only lap just under half a second down on Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who set the pace on those first qualifying simulation runs despite having his own effort interrupted by Bottas' spin.
Hamilton improved fractionally from a 1m27.896s lap to a 1m27.885s best on his second set of tyres, before Bottas jumped to the top of the timesheet with a 1m27.785s effort.
Read Also:
No one else managed to lap faster than 1m28s. Max Verstappen’s Red Bull-Honda was best of the rest, almost three tenths down on Bottas.
The result, coupled with the FIA's clarification that FP2 may determine the grid for Sunday's race, means that Mercedes could be in line to lock out the front row should the rescheduled qualifying not take place on Sunday morning.
Ferrari elected to leave it until the very end of the session for its drivers to do their second qualifying simulation runs.
Charles Leclerc improved from sixth- to fourth-quickest with a lap less than a tenth slower than Verstappen's best that also displaced Sebastian Vettel to fifth.
Vettel was just under six tenths slower than Bottas, while Alex Albon managed to split the Ferraris initially before slipping to sixth, just over six tenths off the pace.
Carlos Sainz continued to lead the way among the midfield runners, his McLaren almost three tenths faster than the Racing Point of Sergio Perez and six and a half tenths down on Albon's Red Bull-Honda.
Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly left it late to move into the top 10, taking ninth place by 0.004s from Lando Norris, who still made it two McLarens in the top 10.
Renault endured a difficult second session while continuing to evaluate a front wing upgrade. Daniel Ricciardo was only 17th-quickest and Nico Hulkenberg 18th.
Robert Kubica narrowly edged George Russell in the battle of the two Williams drivers, lapping just over half a second off Hulkenberg and 0.155s faster than Russell.
Session results
Cla | # | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 77 | | Mercedes | 33 | 1'27.785 | |
2 | 44 | | Mercedes | 34 | 1'27.885 | 0.10 |
3 | 33 | | Red Bull | 24 | 1'28.066 | 0.281 |
4 | 16 | | Ferrari | 28 | 1'28.141 | 0.356 |
5 | 5 | | Ferrari | 37 | 1'28.376 | 0.591 |
6 | 23 | | Red Bull | 34 | 1'28.402 | 0.617 |
7 | 55 | | McLaren | 29 | 1'29.051 | 1.266 |
8 | 11 | | Racing Point | 28 | 1'29.299 | 1.514 |
9 | 10 | | Toro Rosso | 34 | 1'29.354 | 1.569 |
10 | 4 | | McLaren | 35 | 1'29.358 | 1.573 |
11 | 7 | | Alfa Romeo | 29 | 1'29.477 | 1.692 |
12 | 26 | | Toro Rosso | 35 | 1'29.512 | 1.727 |
13 | 8 | | Haas | 28 | 1'29.553 | 1.768 |
14 | 18 | | Racing Point | 27 | 1'29.597 | 1.812 |
15 | 99 | | Alfa Romeo | 33 | 1'29.651 | 1.866 |
16 | 20 | | Haas | 31 | 1'29.749 | 1.964 |
17 | 3 | | Renault | 30 | 1'29.859 | 2.074 |
18 | 27 | | Renault | 29 | 1'30.334 | 2.549 |
19 | 88 | | Williams | 35 | 1'30.916 | 3.131 |
20 | 63 | | Williams | 36 | 1'31.071 | 3.286 |
View full results |

Previous article
Steiner gets "moral injury" fine for Sochi comments
Next article
Ferrari's Suzuka deficit a "surprise", Leclerc admits

About this article
Series | Formula 1 |
Event | Japanese GP |
Sub-event | FP2 |
Author | Ben Anderson |
Japanese GP: Bottas tops FP2 session that could decide grid
Why Verstappen isn't interested in the hype game
In a pre-season where Red Bull has been unusually quiet, Max Verstappen has also been guarded about the team's fortunes in 2021. Even after trying the RB16B for the first time at Silverstone, the Dutchman was careful to manage expectations
The pros and cons of F1's 2021 rule changes
In the strategy for grand prix racing's future, 2021 represents a significant step towards the goal of closer racing and a more level playing field. That's the theory behind the latest raft of changes, but will they have the desired effect?
What Red Bull is trying to hide with its RB16B launch
Red Bull made no secret of the fact its 2021 F1 car is an evolution of its predecessor, but in keeping the same foundations while hiding some tightly-guarded updates with its RB16B, the team aims to avoid suffering the same pitfalls of previous years
How Albon plans to fight his way out of Red Bull limbo
Alex Albon has faced the media for the first time since he lost his Red Bull drive at the end of 2020 and dropped out of a Formula 1 race seat altogether. He has a history of bouncing back from setbacks, so here's what he must do to rise again
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
Why Alfa's 2021 launch says more about its 2022 plans
Alfa Romeo launched its C41 with a revised front nose, but there's little to suggest it will surge up the leaderboard in 2021. As the team frankly admits, it's putting its eggs in the basket labelled 2022 and hoping to hold the eighth place it earned last year
Why Gasly’s AlphaTauri haven is a blessing and a curse
Red Bull opted not to re-sign Pierre Gasly even before it decided to drop Alex Albon and so the Frenchman's Formula 1 journey will continue at AlphaTauri. This has positive and negative connotations for one of last season's star performers.
Eight things Red Bull must do to beat Mercedes in 2021
After seven years of defeat at the hands of Mercedes, Red Bull is as hungry as ever to secure a fifth world championship. But there are key challenges it must overcome in 2021 to switch from challenger to conqueror