Jenson Button was once again the man to beat in Japan on Friday afternoon after narrowly pipping Fernando Alonso to be the P1 slot.
From the green lights, it was a battle between McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari to see who would finish Practice Two at the top of the timesheets.
The position changed hands several times with all six of the leading drivers in the standings holding the P1 slot at some point during the 90 minutes.
However, it the end it was Button who triumphed as his 1:31.901 put him 0.174s up on Alonso.
Sebastian Vettel, who needs just one point to win the World title this weekend, was third, a further 0.020s off the pace, while Mark Webber took fourth place.
Felipe Massa was fifth ahead of the Mercedes GPs of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg with Lewis Hamilton completing the top eight.
Report: The track temperature was sitting at 37'C as Heikki Kovalainen led out the field for their installations laps at the start of Friday's second practice. The Finn stayed out to post the afternoon's first time, a 1:43.930, which was soon topped by Kamui Kobayashi by over six seconds.
Vitaly Petrov was the next to lead the way before he was dropped by FP1's pace-setter Jenson Button. The McLaren driver crossed the line with a 1:34.562. Tonio Liuzzi's afternoon came to a premature halt when he parkd his HRT on the side of the track after Spoon Curve. Lewis Hamilton overhauled Button in a McLaren 1-2 before Fernando Alonso took his turn at the front with a 1:33.854. Michael Schumacher slotted into fourth place. Mark Webber took second with Sebastian Vettel, coming back from FP1 shunt, third quickest ahead of Felipe Massa.
Bruno Senna was almost the second driver to hit the showers early as he lost control at Turn 1, coming to a halt in the gravel. However, he managed to keep the engine running and after a push from the marshals was back on track and heading to the pits. Alguersuari, who improved to third, had a scary moment through the exit of Spoon Curve and had to back off from another hot lap.
Felipe Massa took the top of the timesheets with a 1:32.448, 0.988s up on Petrov as both put in runs on the softer option Pirelli tyres. Rubens Barrichello did have an early shower as he spun when he touched the grass at Degner 1, skidding across the grass before hitting the barriers with the rear of his Williams and spinning around to impact on the left side as well.
Alonso was the next to hit the front using the option tyre with Webber falling 0.072s off the Ferrari driver's pace. Button overhauled Alonso by 0.174s while Pastor Maldonado joined his team-mate on the sidelines as he parked his Williams Degner 1. His woes, which bought out the yellow flags, baulked Vettel and Hamilton, who of whom had just ventured out on the option tyres. Kobayashi pulls off a brilliant save as he was oh so close to losing his car and hitting the barriers. Great driving at 130R. The final ten minutes saw Scbhumacher made a massive improvement, moving up into sixth place, while Rosberg took seventh.
Practice Two ended with Button in the P1 slot with a 1:31.901, 0.174s up on Alonso. Vettel was third, a further 0.020s adrift.
Times
01. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.901s 32 laps
02. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m32.075s + 0.174 33 laps
03. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m32.095s + 0.194 35 laps
04. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m32.147s + 0.246 28 laps
05. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m32.448s + 0.547 34 laps
06. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m32.710s + 0.809 26 laps
07. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m32.982s + 1.081 27 laps
08. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.245s + 1.344 26 laps
09. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m33.446s + 1.545 36 laps
10. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.681s + 1.780 33 laps
11. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.705s + 1.804 25 laps
12. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m33.790s + 1.889 36 laps
13. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m34.393s + 2.492 35 laps
14. Bruno Senna Renault 1m34.557s + 2.656 27 laps
15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m34.601s + 2.700 33 laps
16. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m36.038s + 4.137 33 laps
17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m36.225s + 4.324 35 laps
18. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m37.123s + 5.222 14 laps
19. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m37.440s + 5.539 30 laps
20. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m38.093s + 6.192 30 laps
21. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m38.387s + 6.486 16 laps
22. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m38.763s + 6.862 36 laps
23. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m39.800s + 7.899 24 laps
24. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m42.480s + 10.579 4 laps
