Hamilton tops FP2 as rain hits Suzuka

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F1 Grand Prix, GP Japan, Circuit Suzukajp

Lewis Hamilton topped a washed out the second free practice session at Suzuka that saw very little running at all. Force Inda and Williams were the only two other teams which sent their drivers out for a timed lap, while others only completed reconnaissance laps, or none at all.

The session was initially delayed by 45 minutes due to the bad conditions, but when the session eventually got going, none of the drivers were eager to go out.

Eventually, it was Kimi Raikkonen who ventured out on track first. He returned after a single lap, not to be seen again in the remainder of the session.

Six drivers opted not to go out, but Carlos Sainz was surprisingly not among them. Toro Rosso had managed to repair all the damage from his FP1 crash rapidly, allowing the Spaniard to complete 2 installation laps.

The rain is expected to last into tomorrow, with the prospect of both FP3 and qualifying being held in wet or mixed conditions.

Results

Pos.No.DriverCarTimeGapLaps
144Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:48.719-4
231Esteban OconForce India Mercedes1:49.518+0.799s3
311Sergio PerezForce India Mercedes1:51.345+2.626s3
419Felipe MassaWilliams Mercedes1:52.146+3.427s3
518Lance StrollWilliams Mercedes1:52.343+3.624s4
67Kimi RäikkönenFerrari--1
727Nico HulkenbergRenault--1
830Jolyon PalmerRenault--1
99Marcus EricssonSauber Ferrari--3
105Sebastian VettelFerrari--1
1114Fernando AlonsoMcLaren Honda--2
1294Pascal WehrleinSauber Ferrari--2
1355Carlos SainzToro Rosso--1
142Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren Honda--1