Valtteri Bottas a été le plus rapide de la première séance d’essais libres au Japon. Lewis Hamilton est 2e. On retrouve ensuite les Ferrari et les Red Bull. Les McLaren et les Racing Point sont également du top 10.
| Pos | No | Pilote | Équipe | Temps | Écart | Tours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:28.731 | 26 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:28.807 | +0.076s | 25 |
| 3 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:29.720 | +0.989s | 26 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:29.912 | +1.181s | 20 |
| 5 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:30.046 | +1.315s | 22 |
| 6 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:30.375 | +1.644s | 24 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren Renault | 1:30.702 | +1.971s | 21 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point BWT Mercedes | 1:30.810 | +2.079s | 21 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point BWT Mercedes | 1:30.959 | +2.228s | 27 |
| 10 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | 1:31.001 | +2.270s | 24 |
| 11 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:31.283 | +2.552s | 25 |
| 12 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:31.307 | +2.576s | 27 |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:31.426 | +2.695s | 29 |
| 14 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1:31.563 | +2.832s | 25 |
| 15 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:31.785 | +3.054s | 22 |
| 16 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:31.920 | +3.189s | 23 |
| 17 | 38 | Naoki Yamamoto | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:32.018 | +3.287s | 30 |
| 18 | 63 | George Russell | Williams Mercedes | 1:32.800 | +4.069s | 23 |
| 19 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams Mercedes | 1:33.484 | +4.753s | 27 |
| 20 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:36.887 | +8.156s | 4 |