Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were second and fourth fastest respectively in the second free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix.
45 laps. Charles and Carlos went out on prototype tyres for the start of the session, setting times of 1’33”011 and 1’33”266 before switching to Mediums. On this compound, the Monegasque got down to 1’31”708, while the Spaniard posted a time of 1’32”085. Then, the SF-23s were fitted with Soft tyres for a qualifying simulation run: Leclerc did a 1’31”008, Carlos a 1’31”237. The second half of the session was spent working in race trim, with long runs on the Medium tyre. The session ended two minutes ahead of time after Pierre Gasly’s crash brought out the red flags. Charles did 23 laps, one fewer than Carlos.