Lando Norris raised hopes that he could challenge Max Verstappen for pole at the Japanese Grand Prix by finishing final practice within three tenths of the Red Bull driver. Verstappen’s record 10-race winning run and Red Bull’s unbeaten season came to an end in Singapore last weekend. He had set a blistering pace on Friday to suggest the team have put their struggles in the city-state behind them. The Dutchman’s margin in opening practice was a huge 0.626 seconds over Ferrari’s Singapore-winner Carlos Sainz before beating Charles Leclerc by 0.320sec in P2. That raised fears that Verstappen, who is closing in on a hat-trick of world titles, could dominate the weekend in a Red Bull car which Lewis Hamilton predicted would be “phenomenal” around the high-speed corner track at Suzuka. But Norris finished just 0.240 seconds adrift of the 25-year-old and just 0.048 ahead of his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri as the British team continued to show strong pace. Mercedes pair Hamilton and George Russell enjoyed a more promising session but remained off the pace of Red Bull and McLaren. Hamilton in particular struggled badly in Friday’s two practice sessions, finishing 16th and 14th, with the seven-time world champion admitting Mercedes had work to do before qualifying. The 38-year-old finished seventh in P3, albeit 0.892sec behind pace-setter Verstappen, with Russell eighth. Mercedes are battling with Ferrari to finish second in the Constructors’ Championship. Ferrari, who are running a new floor at Suzuka, claimed the edge by finishing fifth and sixth but were over half-a-second adrift of the two McLarens. Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull claimed fourth, 0.737sec behind his team-mate. A large number of the teams are struggling with tyre degradation due to the higher-than-usual heat at Suzuka, with a track temperature of over 48 degrees Celsius recorded during P3, raising the possibility of a three-stop race on Sunday. Qualifying gets under way at 1500 local time (0700 BST). Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen returns to form in Japanese Grand Prix practice Lance Stroll to sit out Singapore Grand Prix after huge crash in qualifying ‘You can forget about that’ – Max Verstappen rules out another win in Singapore

Lewis Hamilton was joyous after qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, insisting he hadn’t enjoyed the race as much since 2008. The seven-time world champion, driving a new-look Mercedes this weekend, made an error and crashed towards the end of third practice on Saturday morning. But his car was repaired in time for a topsy-turvy qualifying session, with the 38-year-old sneaking through the opening two sessions before setting the sixth-fastest time in Q3. Yet despite the ‘midfield’ result, Hamilton revealed he has been in a “good frame of mind” all weekend and has “loved every second of the track” in the principality so far. “It’s been an amazing weekend,” said three-time Monaco winner Hamilton after qualifying. “I’ve loved every second of the track. More than ever! Haven’t enjoyed it as much since 2007, 2008, Formula 3 days. We’ve made some really good changes. “I’ve arrived here this weekend in a really good frame of mind. I feel really refreshed, I’ve loved the challenge of being in the car. I’m glad I didn’t break the new components! “Those changes have helped the feeling… going in the right direction. I don’t think we’ll get a full read of the sidepods until Barcelona when we’ll see the car come alive. Hamilton also took sole fault for the collision with the wall at the end of FP3. “The car felt like a real handful,” he said of his early running on Saturday. “Switching on the tyres was hard. A decision I took, against everyone’s judgement, and it made it hard. That’s as fast as our car could go, maybe a tenth better.” Max Verstappen snatched pole from Fernando Alonso in a thrilling end to qualifying, with Charles Leclerc third and Esteban Ocon a surprise name in fourth. Hamilton’s team-mate, George Russell, could only manage eighth for Sunday’s race, where rain could play a part. Read More F1 grid: Starting positions for Monaco Grand Prix Max Verstappen fends off Fernando Alonso to take stunning pole in Monaco Lewis Hamilton crashes in new Mercedes at Monaco Grand Prix practice Lewis Hamilton has shut the door on Ferrari – will he come to regret it? F1’s Charles Leclerc drops huge hint about Lewis Hamilton’s potential future at Ferrari

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CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 8, 2023--