Button fastest in FP2

Practice for the Japanese Grand Prix resumed after the lunch break and the fans were treated with more of the same as Jenson set the pace.

The Briton was fastest again, 0.174s quicker than Ferrari’s Alonso. Both of them traded fastest time with Mark Webber throughout the session. Hamilton was also in the early fight but eventually dropped slightly down the order.

His morning crash didn’t hamper Sebastian Vettel’s working program. Indeed, he completed more laps than his rivals and set the third fastest time, less than two tenths of a second behind Button. His teammate Webber was fourth fastest. Massa completed the top five.

But the biggest story of the afternoon was certainly the pace of the Red Bulls over a long run. It was extremely impressive and emphasized once again how well-suited to Suzuka these cars are. This will, however, not come as good news to their rivals.

Michael Schumacher was sixth fastest ahead of his teammate Nico Rosberg. Hamilton was only eighth fastest, 1.3s behind his teammate.

There were a few yellow flags during the 90-minute session. Kamui Kobayashi had some moments, Senna had a spin, Barrichello damaged his Williams against the barriers at Degner One. His teammate Maldonado stopped at the same place with mechanical problems.

Trulli – who has had to revert to the old power steering system - also had problems.