Hamilton fastest in second practice at Japanese Grand Prix

Suzuka (Japan), Oct 5: Britain's Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) on Friday led the second practice session at the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, while Germany's Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) was third.

Vettel is 50 points behind Hamilton in the drivers' championship, and needs to finish ahead of Hamilton in Sunday's race to stand any realistic chance of winning the 2018 title, reports Efe.

In the first practice session, the Formula One world champion had clocked the fastest time (1:28.691).

In FP2, Hamilton continued to set the pace, posting 1:28.217 on supersoft tyres.

Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas, was second during both sessions.

Vettel was third fastest, eight-tenths of a second slower than the Briton.