The Japanese Grand Prix weekend officially began this Italian morning with the first two free practice sessions, which ended with the best performances of George Russell and Oscar Piastri in FP1 and FP2 respectively. However, precisely in the course of these tests, several finite episodes occurred under investigationsome of which involved riders belonging to top teams.
The first case was that of Lewis Hamiltonguilty of having slowed down Max Verstappen in the 130R at a moment not captured by the international control cameras. The Ferrari driver, however, was later acquitted by the commissioners. ‘No further action’ also for what happened, again during FP1, between Alex Albon and Sergio Perezwith the pilots who however entered in contact at turn 16. In this case, the Mexican did not agree with the presence of the Williams representative, which is why he was not sanctioned. At Williams, no sanctions were issued against either Carlos Sainzguilty at first of having slowed down Liam Lawson.
The latest episode once again occurred against Max Verstappen, this time in FP2, with the Dutchman’s fastest lap ruined by Franco Colapinto just before the 130R, where the Frenchman from Alpine was proceeding slowly. Unlike previous decisions, the Argentine received a ‘warning’, which however is not equivalent to a penalty.
