Piastri tops FP2
Oscar Piastri set the pace in Suzuka’s FP2, topping the timesheets and outpacing Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and George Russell as teams dial in the new 2026 cars — FP2 classification published by the FIA shows Piastri fastest on March 27. (gpfans.com) (formula1.com)
Piastri’s quickest lap was a 1:30.133 on a 29-lap FP2 programme, with a recorded maximum of 231.937 km/h and the flying time logged at 15:24:56 local time. (fia.com) Kimi Antonelli finished 0.092s behind on a 28-lap return, while George Russell was 0.205s adrift; Antonelli’s top speed was listed at 231.700 km/h and Russell’s at 231.410 km/h. (fia.com) Teams ran short “soft” qualifying simulations early in FP2 before shifting into longer race runs later in the hour as track conditions evolved, using FP2 to validate both single-lap pace and race-setup durability. (total-motorsport.com) McLaren’s running was not interruption-free: Lando Norris was late out after a hydraulic problem, and other drivers including Gabriel Bortoleto, Arvid Lindblad and Sergio Pérez lost significant track time to reliability issues during FP2. (formulaonehistory.com) Mercedes had dominated the morning running with a 1–2 in FP1, giving the Silver Arrows two distinct datasets to compare against the differing FP2 programmes. (motorsport.com) The weekend timetable puts FP3 on Saturday at 11:30–12:30 local time, qualifying at 15:00 Saturday, and the race scheduled for Sunday at 14:00 local over 53 laps — teams will use FP3 to finalise setup choices ahead of qualifying. (51gt3.com)
