Rosberg retains lead in second practice
Nico Rosberg continued to be fastest in the second practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend. The German's Mercedes team mate, Lewis Hamilton was second again, but this time a lot closer, while Kimi Raikkonen was third fasstest, 3 tenths down on the pace setter.
As is often the case, the field narrowed down considerably compared to the morning sesion, with Verstappen and Vettel also within a second of the pace setter. The second Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo was missing a competitive time. The Malaysian GP winner saw his fastest attempt go to waste due to virtual safety car period that was caused by a technical issue on Esteban Gutierrez' Haas.
The question remains how relevant this will all be, as rain is forecast for the remainder of the weekend, making Friday's running possibly the only dry running of the weekend.
Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:32.250 | - | 35 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:32.322 | +0.072s | 35 |
| 3 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:32.573 | +0.323s | 26 |
| 4 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer | 1:33.061 | +0.811s | 29 |
| 5 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:33.103 | +0.853s | 34 |
| 6 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India Mercedes | 1:33.570 | +1.320s | 37 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India Mercedes | 1:33.873 | +1.623s | 35 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren Honda | 1:33.985 | +1.735s | 37 |
| 9 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams Mercedes | 1:34.028 | +1.778s | 33 |
| 10 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso Ferrari | 1:34.086 | +1.836s | 33 |
| 11 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams Mercedes | 1:34.127 | +1.877s | 33 |
| 12 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer | 1:34.150 | +1.900s | 29 |
| 13 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:34.241 | +1.991s | 33 |
| 14 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso Ferrari | 1:34.305 | +2.055s | 27 |
| 15 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1:34.339 | +2.089s | 36 |
| 16 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren Honda | 1:34.398 | +2.148s | 29 |
| 17 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas Ferrari | 1:34.643 | +2.393s | 11 |
| 18 | 30 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:34.760 | +2.510s | 40 |
| 19 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber Ferrari | 1:34.824 | +2.574s | 26 |
| 20 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Mrt Mercedes | 1:35.292 | +3.042s | 30 |
| 21 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Mrt Mercedes | 1:35.400 | +3.150s | 37 |
| 22 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber Ferrari | 1:36.318 | +4.068s | 26 |
