Bottas gets a move on

PRACTICE: FLYING FINN JUST EDGES TEAM-MATE HAMILTON AT SUZUKA

Valtteri Bottas was quickest yesterday in practice before the Japanese Grand Prix locked down ahead of an approaching super typhoon, finishing a tenth of a second ahead of team-mate and world championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

The Mercedes pair, benefiting in Japan from an aerodynamic upgrade package to their W10 cars, were comfortably ahead of the third-fastest Red Bull of Max Verstappen in the second session of the condensed racing weekend at Suzuka.

“It was a very positive day,” said Bottas. “We tried the new bits with the car. It felt good from the beginning.”

Just before the first session began yesterday morning, race organisers announced that the entire Saturday track programme, including qualifying, had been scrapped for safety reasons in the face of the approaching Super Typhoon Hagibis.

Qualifying was rescheduled to 10am tomorrow, with the race still taking place at 2.10pm as originally planned, providing the weather improves.

“We still need to remember it’s only practice, Sunday is still going to be close with qualifying and the race,” Bottas said.

The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, who had dominated practice and qualifying at the previous four grands prix since the summer break, could only trail in fourth and fifth.

The loss of today’s timetable added extra spice with only yesterday’s two practice sessions available to prepare the cars for qualifying.

And should bad weather linger tomorrow morning and prevent the qualifying session taking place, the governing body FIA confirmed that the timings from yesterday’s second practice will determine the starting grid.

That would leave Mercedes sitting pretty with a front-row lockout as they look to secure the onetwo finish they need to clinch a record sixth successive constructors championship.

Bottas recovered from a mid-session spin on the final bend to lap the 5.807km circuit in 1min 27.8785sec, 0.100sec ahead of Hamilton.

Verstappen was third on 1:28.066 in his Red Bull, 0.281sec slower than Bottas, with Leclerc fourth on 1:28.141 and Vettel fifth on 1:28.376.

“Mercedes are looking very strong, which is no surprise on this track,” Verstappen told reporters.

“I’m not worried about doing qualifying and the race on Sunday as it won’t affect my approach. We can’t change the weather, so now we just have to see what happens on Sunday.”

It was a timely riposte by Mercedes to the resurgent Ferrari team who had dominated practice and qualifying since the summer break.

A win for Hamilton tomorrow would leave only Bottas, who lies 73 points behind, able to catch him in the drivers’ standings with just four races to come.

It would also put the Englishman in line to wrap up a sixth drivers’ title, a feat only previously achieved by Michael Schumacher, and third world title in a row at Mexico later this month.

The fanatical Japanese spectators, left reeling from the news of a blank Saturday, were given something to cheer yesterday morning as local hero Naoki Yamamoto made his Formula One debut, replacing Pierre Gasly in the Toro Rosso for the practice session.

The 31-year-old reigning champion in Japan’s Super Formula and Super GT series completed 30 laps – more than any other driver in the session – and finished 17th fastest. –