The big news ahead of the race is Michael Schumacher's second and now believed to be final retirement from the sport. Meanwhile racing continued with Red Bull and McLaren looking strong once again:
Originally Posted by Practice 1Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m34.507s 20
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m34.740s + 0.233 26
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m34.856s + 0.349 24
4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m35.059s + 0.552 18
5. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m35.112s + 0.615 20
6. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m35.199s + 0.692 27
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m35.283s + 0.776 24
8. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m35.299s + 0.792 18
9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m35.474s + 0.967 22
10. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m35.478s + 0.971 24
11. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m35.484s + 0.977 26
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m35.584s + 1.077 24
13. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m35.691s + 1.184 22
14. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m35.724s + 1.217 21
15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m36.123s + 1.616 19
16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m36.222s + 1.715 25
17. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m36.366s + 1.859 23
18. Valterri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m36.389s + 1.882 24
19. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m37.716s + 3.209 17
20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m38.295s + 3.788 23
21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m38.616s + 4.109 25
22. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m39.043s + 4.536 25
23. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m39.374s + 4.867 22
24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m39.688s + 5.181 19
Japanese GP: Jenson Button fastest in first practice at Suzuka - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.comOriginally Posted by Practice 2Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m32.493s 34
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.707s + 0.214 32
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m32.836s + 0.343 37
4. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m32.987s + 0.494 30
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m33.093s + 0.600 28
6. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m33.107s + 0.614 35
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.349s + 0.856 22
8. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m33.499s + 1.006 35
9. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m33.614s + 1.121 32
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m33.750s + 1.257 13
11. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m33.866s + 1.373 19
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m33.903s + 1.410 36
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m33.983s + 1.490 33
14. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m34.291s + 1.798 12
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m34.300s + 1.807 33
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m34.863s + 2.370 32
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m35.080s + 2.587 34
18. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m35.711s + 3.218 41
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m35.870s + 3.377 37
20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m36.194s + 3.701 32
21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m36.636s + 4.143 28
22. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m37.342s + 4.849 30
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m37.701s + 5.208 35
24. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes No time 2
Japanese Grand Prix: Mark Webber goes quickest in second practice - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com