Preparation for the Japanese Grand Prix concluded this morning with a final 60-minute practice session.
Jenson Button was once again quickest, this time with a comfortable margin – 0.5s. His teammate Lewis Hamilton made it a McLaren one-two. Let’s just remember that the Woking-based team brought a new rear wing this weekend, with which it hopes to challenge Red Bull in qualifying.
Sebastian Vettel was third quickest for Red Bull. Alonso was fourth, Webber fifth and Massa sixth.
The session was interrupted shortly after the midway point, because Bruno Senna went off at Spoon. He walked away from the crash unscathed but it took a few minutes to clear his Renault.
Tonio Liuzzi had some technical woes. His car stopped on track in the final part of the session. He only completed eight laps this morning and was almost 10 seconds slower than Button.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Jenson Button | McLaren Mercedes | 1.31.255 | 13 | |
| 02 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren Mercedes | 1.31.762 | +0.507 | 16 |
| 03 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Renault | 1.32.122 | +0.867 | 18 |
| 04 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1.32.279 | +1.024 | 16 |
| 05 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Renault | 1.32.401 | +1.146 | 14 |
| 06 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1.32.429 | +1.174 | 16 |
| 07 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes GP | 1.32.725 | +1.470 | 19 |
| 08 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes GP | 1.32.878 | +1.623 | 17 |
| 09 | Vitaly Petrov | Lotus Renault GP | 1.33.058 | +1.803 | 15 |
| 10 | Adrian Sutil | Force India Mercedes | 1.33.424 | +2.169 | 14 |
| 11 | Sébastien Buemi | Toro Rosso Ferrari | 1.33.469 | +2.214 | 18 |
| 12 | Jaime Alguersuari | Toro Rosso Ferrari | 1.33.545 | +2.290 | 18 |
| 13 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber Ferrari | 1.33.818 | +2.563 | 17 |
| 14 | Sergio Perez | Sauber Ferrari | 1.33.836 | +2.581 | 21 |
| 15 | Paul di Resta | Force India Mercedes | 1.33.990 | +2.735 | 16 |
| 16 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams Cosworth | 1.34.321 | +3.066 | 21 |
| 17 | Bruno Senna | Lotus Renault GP | 1.35.389 | +4.134 | 5 |
| 18 | Rubens Barrichello | Williams Cosworth | 1.35.651 | +4.396 | 18 |
| 19 | Jarno Trulli | Team Lotus Renault | 1.36.327 | +5.072 | 16 |
| 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Team Lotus Renault | 1.36.912 | +5.657 | 14 |
| 21 | Jérôme d’Ambrosio | Marussia Virgin Racing Cosworth | 1.37.938 | +6.683 | 17 |
| 22 | Timo Glock | Marussia Virgin Racing Cosworth | 1.38.011 | +6.756 | 16 |
| 23 | Daniel Ricciardo | HRT F1 Cosworth | 1.38.355 | +7.100 | 19 |
| 24 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | HRT F1 Cosworth | 1.41.097 | +9.842 | 8 |