Mercedes AMG Petronas undergoes wet F1 testing at Suzuka

Rain is the great equalizer when it comes to racing. It doesn’t matter how much power you have or how good your aero is- the rain washes all of that away and puts a driver’s skill on public display. With the South West monsoon blowing rain clouds towards Japan, Suzuka is going through some light precipitation as the F1 cars go through their practice sessions.

After a rough Singapore GP, Rosberg and Hamilton are ready to get right back into it. In these wet conditions, Hamilton is struggling, managing to get the 5th best timing during the first practice session, and 3rd best in the second. Rosberg is doing slightly better, being in 3rd position during the first session, and 2nd position during the second.

In contrast, Rosberg managed to run 22 laps with the light rain interfering, while Hamilton only got out for 14 laps. Feedback from both drivers is that the track is far too wet to run serious laps, only managing to move to the intermediate compound during the second practice session. The team is hoping for clearer skies on approach to race day, but the unpredictability of the weather is making it difficult to plan.