Overview
- Team Aston Martin said Fernando Alonso will arrive later than planned for personal family reasons.
- The team will field reserve driver Jak Crawford in the first practice session at Suzuka.
- Multiple outlets citing BBC Sport report the delay follows the birth of Alonso and Melissa Jiménez’s first child together, which the couple has not confirmed.
- Aston Martin said everything is fine and that Alonso will be on track in time for Friday’s later sessions.
- The FP1 outing for Crawford will count toward F1’s required rookie running, a rule that leads teams to give practice time to less experienced drivers.