Hamilton fastest of five drivers in soaked practice – FP2 Report
Japanese Grand Prix – Championship leader Lewis Hamilton was fastest in a soaked FP2 session in which only five drivers set lap times.
The start of FP2 was delayed by 45 minutes due to heavy rain after the morning session. Rain was already falling in the early stages of FP1 but did not interfere with slick tyre running.
The session got underway with half of the run time remaining, but teams were not eager to venture onto the track.
Hamilton set the fastest time on the full wet tyres on a 1:48.719, he was 0.799s ahead of Esteban Ocon for Force India.
Sergio Perez was the first driver to set a lap time in third, 2.626s off Hamilton’s time.
The two Williams of Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll were the other two drivers to set times in fourth and fifth respectively.
Stroll was the only driver to have an off-track excursion during the session, aquaplaning across a river at Turn 1. He ran across the gravel and just kept his Williams out of the tyre barriers.
Every other driver did at least one installation lap during the session, including Carlos Sainz Jr who was able to shakedown his rebuilt Toro Rosso following his FP1 crash.
More rain is forecast for FP3 and potentially for qualifying as well, but Sunday is expected to be dry.
