For the second race in succession, Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat emerged fastest overall from the two Friday free practice sessions with a time of 1m48.277s, but the entire day in Suzuka was affected by rain that varied in intensity from light to heavy. As a result, all the drivers used Cinturato Blue wet and Cinturato Green intermediate tyres only, lapping around 15 seconds off the usual dry weather pace. In the morning free practice session, Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz was quickest for the first time of his F1 career.

Tomorrow’s track conditions are expected to be generally a bit drier, although the threat of rain remains. This made it extremely difficult for the teams to judge whether or not the wet conditions and standing water seen today would be representative of the rest of the weekend, or how useful any data captured now would be.

Many of the teams limited their running to avoid unnecessary risks, steering clear of the periods of particularly heavy rain. Nonetheless, they were still able to gain some useful information about the potential of the circuit and their cars in wet conditions, in case the intermediates or wets are still needed in the remaining sessions.

Paul Hembery: “For the drivers and fans, it was a slightly frustrating and inconclusive pair of free practice sessions, but the weather certainly did not dampen the enthusiasm of the amazing Japanese public. The drivers got the chance to use both intermediate and wet tyres, which meant that teams were able to assess the crossover points: in other words the point at which it becomes quicker to switch from intermediate to full wet tyres and vice versa. The interrupted nature of these sessions today means that FP3 tomorrow will take on particular significance, as teams try to pack in as much dry running as they can in the single hour available before qualifying.”

Pirelli fact of the day:
The Suzuka circuit was originally opened in 1962 as a test track for Honda, and needed some substantial modifications to make it suitable for Formula One, with the first grand prix held at the venue in 1987. It’s the circuit that has decided more world championships than any other (12): largely due to its traditional place on the calendar towards the end of the season. Japanese drivers have finished on podium of their home event twice at Suzuka, thanks to Aguri Suzuki (third in 1990) and Kamui Kobayashi (third in 2012).

FP1: 			    FP2:
1. Sainz 1m49.434s Inter    1. Kvyat 1m48.277s Inter
2. Kvyat 1m49.938s Inter    2. Rosberg 1m48.300s Inter
3. Rosberg 1m50.077s Inter  3. Hamilton 1m48.853s Inter

Tyre statistics of the day:
			   Hard Medium Intermediate Wet
kms driven * 			       1044 	    806
sets used overall ** 		       21 	    20
highest number of laps ** 	       17 	    18

* The above number gives the total amount of kilometres
driven in FP1 and FP2 today, all drivers combined.
** Per compound, all drivers combined.