Japan: Vettel leads Red Bull 1-2 in 2nd practice

Vettel streaks behind the trees at Suzuka

Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull teammate Mark Webber ran 1-2 in the second Formula 1 practice session at Suzuka Friday afternoon.

The Mercedes of Nico Rosberg was little more than a quarter of a second down on Vettel in third.

In trying to keep up with the Red Bulls, several drivers went off course. Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso both had moments at the Degners turn but with little damage, but Kimi Raikkonen, Sergio Perez and Pastor Maldonado all went off course and ended their day early.

Perez clipped the Astroturf on the entry to Spoon with his McLaren's rear right and was pitched sideways into a heavy collision with the barriers.

Williams driver Maldonado hit the tires at Degner, just 12 minutes into the session. Raikkonen lost the rear of his Lotus and ended up beached in the gravel at Dunlop but still ended the session fourth fastest.

Vettel said afterward, "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve. Looking after the tires will be important here, especially during the race. The car works fine at the moment, but we need to make sure we set it up the right way. It’s good to see we are up there today, but it’s not always so important; we need to step up our game for tomorrow, as Mercedes will be strong in qualifying."

Results

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Behind Laps
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m33.852s +0.000s 35
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m34.020s +0.168s 35
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m34.114s +0.262s 36
4. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m34.202s +0.350s 17
5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m34.411s +0.559s 30
6. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m34.442s +0.590s 36
7. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m34.473s +0.621s 30
8. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m34.698s +0.846s 35
9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m34.912s +1.060s 34
10. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m35.087s +1.235s 32
11. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m35.089s +1.237s 36
12. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m35.109s +1.257s 34
13. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m35.182s +1.330s 34
14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m35.275s +1.423s 35
15. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m35.341s +1.489s 25
16. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m35.709s +1.857s 8
17. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m36.136s +2.284s 41
18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m36.722s +2.870s 6
19. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m37.630s +3.778s 31
20. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m37.905s +4.053s 36
21. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m38.121s +4.269s 33