As he looks to bounce back from his Melbourne disappointment, Max Verstappen made the perfect start to his Suzuka weekend by going quickest in Friday's opening practice session in Japan.
FP1 in Suzuka was brought to a temporary halt around the halfway mark after Logan Sargeant, racing with a repaired chassis that Williams team mate Alex Albon damaged in Australia, crashed out at Turn 7, with the session red-flagged.
READ MORE: Verstappen fastest during first practice at Suzuka as Sargeant crashes out heavily
Williams later confirmed the chassis was ok but the car had suffered extensive damage to the front suspension as well as the gearbox, with a big repair job on to get it ready for FP2.
Sergio Perez was second fastest, 0.181s behind Verstappen's 1m 30.056s lap time, while Carlos Sainz was third fastest as he looks to pick up where he left off following his victory in the previous race.
Click on the video player above to watch highlights from FP1 in Japan.
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