F1 Japanese Grand Prix: Friday roundup

MERCEDES DUO CONTINUES TO STAY AHEAD OF RIVALS
The Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were quickest at Suzuka during the opening two practice sessions of the F1 Japanese Grand Prix on Friday, with an increased advantage on a single lap over their rivals.

Having admitted that their rivals were a lot closer in Singapore a fortnight ago, the German manufacturer enjoyed the same advantage in Japan as seen earlier this season.

The 2008 F1 champion Hamilton was quickest in FP2, lapping the legendary F1 circuit in 1:35.078 on his second attempt. He had to abort his first lap after a bit of wobble at the exit of Degner. Rosberg in the sister Mercedes couldn’t get a clean lap and was only second fastest, two tenths down on his teammate.

HONDA TAKES THE WRAPS OFF 2015 F1 POWER UNIT
Coming into this weekend, Honda, which owns the Suzuka circuit, revealed the first image of their power unit that will be used by McLaren in 2015. The two companies enjoyed great success in late 80s and early 90s with four successive title doubles. However, both the outfits remained quiet about their much talked about 2015 lineup.

Jenson Button, whose future still lies in the air, was fourth fastest for the Woking based squad while Kevin Magnussen posted the eighth fastest lap of the session.

VERSTAPPEN MAKES F1 DEBUT IN FIRST FREE PRACTICE
Another headline making story was the F1 weekend debut of 17-year-old Max Verstappen, who took over Jean Eric Vergne’s car during FP1. The Dutchman completed the session with no major outing to the gravel traps on a day where even the experienced drivers fell prey to the challenges of Suzuka and 2014 machinery. He finished the session in 12th place with a laptime of 1:38.157, four tenths down on Daniil Kvyat who has three quarters of a season and a couple of test sessions under his belt.

DRIVERS STRUGGLE IN MESSY SECOND FREE PRACTICE
Jean Eric Vergne, who comes fresh from his career best sixth place result in Singapore, had a problematic day at Suzuka. After being forced to sit out in FP1 to pave way for 2015 replacement Verstappen, the Frenchman’s car came to a halt twice during FP2 due to the power unit.

Back at the front, Valtteri Bottas finished the second practice session in third place, well over a second slower than Hamilton’s benchmark. Sebastian Vettel was fifth quickest on a track where he secured his second world title. Daniel Ricciardo, in the other Red Bull went off at the final corner during the first 30 minutes of the session, bringing out red flags and his own session to a halt.

The Ferrari pairing of Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso were sixth and seventh fastest respectively in the session as rumours regarding the latter’s future intensifies.

Caterham had the edge over Marussia for the first time this season but not everything is going well at the Leafield based squad. The team has admitted that a group of bailiffs did visit their factory and seized certain parts including a test car and a simulator. However, the team was adamant that the issue was related to some other company who shares their base at the Leafield technical centre.

TYPHOON THREATS LOOM OVER F1 WEEKEND
And finally, threats of typhoon Phanfone continue to loom at Suzuka with the storm scheduled to hit the country on Sunday. Paddock experts suggest that race could be moved to Saturday but no announcement has been made from F1’s governing body, the FIA. Changing the schedule of a Grand Prix weekend is not without its hassles, given the contracts with TV broadcasters around the world.