Hamilton edged by Bottas, Yamamoto impresses: Japanese GP FP1 Results

Mercedes enjoyed a fine start to the Japanese Grand Prix weekend as Valtteri Bottas edged Lewis Hamilton for top spot in FP1, with Ferrari a second adrift of the Silver Arrows.

Mercedes have taken pole position and won every race at Suzuka in the V6 Hybrid era and their drivers are furnished with aerodynamic upgrades this weekend.

With FP3 cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis and rain forecast for Friday's second session, Mercedes wasted little time in setting their stall out and Bottas ended the session already just a second adrift of last year's pole position time.

Sebastian Vettel edged out Charles Leclerc for third, while Max Verstappen led a fifth-sixth return for Red Bull.

Many eyes were on Toro Rosso as Naoki Yamamoto made his F1 debut, becoming the first Japanese driver to take part in an F1 session since 2014.

The Super Formula champion looked impressive, lapping within a tenth of a second of Toro Rosso full-timer Daniil Kvyat.

Antonio Giovinazzi suffered a hydraulic leak early in the session, hampering his running.

Japanese GP FP1 results

1. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 1:28.731
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:28.807
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1:29.720
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:29.912
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:30.046
6. Alexander Albon (Red Bull) 1:30.375
7. Carlos Sainz (McLaren) 1:30.702
8. Sergio Perez (Racing Point) 1:30.810
9. Lance Stroll (Racing Point) 1:30.959
10. Lando Norris (McLaren) 1:31.001
11. Romain Grosjean (Haas) 1:31.283
12. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) 1:31.307
13. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) 1:31.426
14. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) 1:31.563
15. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) 1:31.785
16. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1:31.920
17. Naoki Yamamoto (Toro Rosso) 1:32.018
18. George Russell (Williams) 1:32.800
19. Robert Kubica (Williams) 1:33.484
20. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) 1:36.887

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