The second practice session at Suzuka began with early problems for McLaren, as Lando Norris remained in the garage due to a hydraulic issue, leaving Oscar Piastri as the team’s only driver on track at the start.

There was immediate drama elsewhere. Arvid Lindblad was called back to the pits after reporting downshift issues, while Pierre Gasly had to avoid Alex Albon in the pit lane. Lewis Hamilton set the first lap time, but the order quickly began to change.

After around 10 minutes, Piastri moved into the lead with a strong lap, ahead of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. The session soon became messy, with Albon having a dangerous moment in traffic before stopping briefly on track with a technical issue, although he managed to continue.

Several drivers struggled to get laps in during the first half. Norris stayed in the garage for a long time, while Gabriel Bortoleto also remained in the pits as his team worked on the car. Sergio Perez was another driver without a time early on.

In the middle of the session drivers switched to soft tyres. Piastri then improved to a 1:30.133, a lap that proved fast enough to stay on top until the end. Both Antonelli and Russell pushed hard but could not match it, with all three drivers separated by just two-tenths of a second. Norris eventually returned to the track and recovered well to move up the order.

There were still small incidents in the closing stages. Norris locked up heavily and returned to the pits, while Bortoleto only managed a late run after earlier problems. Race Control also noted Franco Colapinto for investigation following an incident.

In the end, Oscar Piastri delivered the standout lap, finishing fastest with a 1:30.133, ahead of Kimi Antonelli in second and George Russell in third. Lando Norris recovered to fourth despite his early issues, followed by Charles Leclerc in fifth and Lewis Hamilton in sixth. Nico Hulkenberg took seventh, with Alex Albon eighth, Oliver Bearman ninth and Max Verstappen completing the top ten.