Nico Rosberg continued to set the pace at the legendary Suzuka circuit in second practice for the Japanese Grand Prix as he topped the timesheets once more ahead of Mercedes teammate and title rival Lewis Hamilton.
Just 0.072s separated the duo as the battle for the 2016 drivers’ title heats up with just five rounds remaining.
Kimi Raikkonen was an impressive third and best of the rest behind the Mercedes pairing. The Finn ended FP2 only 0.323s behind Rosberg.
Max Verstappen led Suzuka specialist Sebastian Vettel for fourth and fifth respectively. The two Force Indias continued to outpace the Williams pairing as Sergio Perez led Nico Hulkenberg for sixth and seventh in the order. Fernando Alonso continued to highlight McLaren’s upturn in form and was inside the top 10 once more.
The top 10 was completed by Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz.
Haas’ Esteban Gutierrez could only complete 11 laps after stopping early on in the session.
