McLaren ahead as Suzuka weekend kicks off
F1 Grand Prix, GP Japan, Circuit Suzuka
Both McLaren drivers ended the morning session on top, with Jenson Button edging out his teammate by little more than 2 tenths of a second. Mark Webber went third fastest in the Red Bull and championship leader Fernando Alonso was 11th.
Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:34.507 | - | 20 |
| 2 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:34.740 | 0.233 | 26 |
| 3 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:34.856 | 0.349 | 24 |
| 4 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:35.059 | 0.552 | 18 |
| 5 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:35.122 | 0.615 | 20 |
| 6 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:35.199 | 0.692 | 27 |
| 7 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:35.283 | 0.776 | 24 |
| 8 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:35.299 | 0.792 | 18 |
| 9 | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:35.474 | 0.967 | 22 |
| 10 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:35.478 | 0.971 | 24 |
| 11 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:35.484 | 0.977 | 26 |
| 12 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:35.584 | 1.077 | 24 |
| 13 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:35.691 | 1.184 | 22 |
| 14 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:35.724 | 1.217 | 21 |
| 15 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | Str-Ferrari | 1:36.123 | 1.616 | 19 |
| 16 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Str-Ferrari | 1:36.222 | 1.715 | 25 |
| 17 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:36.366 | 1.859 | 23 |
| 18 | 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Renault | 1:36.389 | 1.882 | 24 |
| 19 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:37.716 | 3.209 | 17 |
| 20 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:38.295 | 3.788 | 23 |
| 21 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:38.616 | 4.109 | 25 |
| 22 | 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | Hrt-Cosworth | 1:39.043 | 4.536 | 25 |
| 23 | 20 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham-Renault | 1:39.374 | 4.867 | 22 |
| 24 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | Hrt-Cosworth | 1:39.688 | 5.181 | 19 |
