By F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth

SUZUKA, Japan, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Max Verstappen and Red Bull laid down a marker in first practice for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix on Friday, emerging fastest with a time of 1:30.056.

Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez made it a Red Bull 1-2, with the Mexican 0.181s adrift of the reigning world champion.

After a disappointing Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago, in which Verstappen retired with a brake issue and Perez could only finish fifth, Red Bull appears to have returned to the form that saw them dominate the first two Grands Prix of 2024.

The session was red-flagged for 12 minutes when Williams' Logan Sargeant ran wide at the Turn 7 left-hander, skated over the gravel trap and clouted the outside wall. The American immediately apologized to his team for his error, suggesting the crash was not caused by a component failure.

With Williams having no spare chassis, Sargeant faces a race against time to see if his mechanics can ready his FW46 for this afternoon's FP2 session.

Behind the two Red Bulls, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was best of the rest, setting a time 0.213s shy of Verstappen's benchmark.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were fourth and fifth for Mercedes, with Sainz's teammate Charles Leclerc sixth followed by Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in seventh, with every other driver over one second shy of Verstappen.

Further down the order, Ayumu Iwasa made his first appearance at a Grand Prix weekend, as the Japanese took over Daniel Ricciardo's RB for the morning session and finished in 16th place, 0.9s adrift of teammate and compatriot Yuki Tsunoda.

Iwasa has been a member of the Red Bull Junior program since 2021, but is not thought to be in serious contention for an F1 race seat in 2025.

Under F1's current regulations, each team must run a driver who has started two or fewer Grands Prix in two FP1 sessions throughout the season. Enditem

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