Typhoon schedule change led to “much better Friday” - Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton believes Formula 1 can learn from the Japanese Grand Prix’s rejigged schedule and has called for teams to be allowed to use more sets of tyres during practice.

With Typhoon Hagibis looming closer and forecast to hit landfall in Japan on Saturday, F1 took the decision to cancel all on-track running and postpone qualifying until Sunday morning prior to the race.

The rescheduled weekend format resulted in more action than usually seen on a Friday, with drivers keen to make the most of the dry conditions to prepare for Sunday’s running.

With FP3 cancelled altogether, teams were able to use extra tyres throughout FP1 and FP2 and run for longer, something Hamilton feels could benefit the show going forwards.

“It’s actually been a much better Friday because normally we only have two tyres per session,” Hamilton explained.

“But because we are obviously missing tomorrow we’ve brought all the tyres that we would have had for tomorrow, the two sets that we would have had for the session [FP3] into today, so that’s an interesting learning.

“Maybe they need to bring us more tyres in the race weekend so we can do three runs.

“If we had three tyres in practice one and practice two and three for practice three, it would just be better for the running, for the fans, because we would be running from the beginning of the session - rather than waiting for 20 minutes before we then go out, so I think it’s probably better for the fans.”

Hamilton ended up a tenth behind Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who topped both Friday practice sessions.

“It’s been a pretty straightforward day and we’ve got through our programme,” Hamilton explained.

“I think Valtteri had a little spin on one of the laps we were about to start but nonetheless it’s been a good day. Valtteri had good pace and was quick.”

Bottas described the day as “very positive” for Mercedes but urged caution heading into Sunday’s planned qualifying session.

“It felt good since the beginning,” he added. “I’m pretty happy with the car in general.

“Just some minor things with the balance to treat, but the short and long runs, at least today, felt good.

“We still need to remember it's only practice. I do still feel the gains we made with the car, so that's always a very nice feeling.

“We can push the car even further than before. I think we need to focus on ourselves, but yeah, Sunday is still going to be close with qualifying and the race.”