Image source, Lotus

Lotus:, external Nicely full garage with both cars in. Just a bout of tweakerage before unleashing both #E23 Hybrids again.

Allan McNish
BBC Radio 5 live analyst

"Jenson Button is out on the circuit in the McLaren, he has done 10 laps so far and is out on the soft tyres. The front of the car doesn't look like it is working at all, it is very lazy to turn round the corners and it looks like a bit of a slow lap."

Rachel T: I think poor old Jenson might end up wishing he had retired after all last year. McLaren Honda have Mount Fuji to climb.

PhilSlocombe: If anyone can challenge Mercedes, it will probably be Williams.

Kieran Rennie: Could we see some real competition between Mercedes and Ferrari this year? Oh say it could be so! *sporting a wry smile*

Here's the order coming up to an hour into FP2.

There's just the sound of a solitary Force India out on the circuit, with Nico Hulkenberg keeping the crowd moderately entertained while everyone else is back in the pits.

Mercedes:, external Nothing to separate our boys already in 2015 - A couple of hundredths in it during #FP1, just a tenth so far in #FP2! So close!

Tom Clarkson
BBC F1 pit-lane reporter

"I am at Toro Rosso's garage where Max Verstappen is and he isn't going to be getting into that car anytime soon. A suspected battery problem means the floor is off."

And there it is! Nico Rosberg is round with a 1:27.697 to nudge off Sebastian Vettel from P1.

Lewis Hamilton was not far behind Rosberg in switching to soft tyres and he goes a shade slower than his Mercedes team-mate, slotting into P2 with a 1:27.797.

Image source, McLaren

McLaren:, external Jenson Button takes on some flow-vis paint before heading out of the box.

Williams Valtteri Bottas has also switched over to the soft tyres. He has the eighth fastest time so far in FP2.

Image source, Getty Images

Sparks kick up from underneath Pastor Maldonado's car, the titanium skid blocks making it look more dramatic than it was.

Meanwhile, Nico Rosberg straps soft tyres on to his Mercedes and we could be seeing a new benchmark time very soon.

Allan McNish
BBC Radio 5 live analyst

"Marcus Ericsson ran on to the kerb, nothing untoward, but immediately something failed with the left rear suspension."

Smoke plumes out of the left rear of Marcus Ericsson's Sauber and he is trying to limp it back to the pits. It was early in the lap so he has a fair distance to go in that condition.

"Something has broken," he reports over team radio. "Rear suspension I think."

McLaren need the MP4-30 to rack up a few laps today and Jenson Button is doing just that at the moment. His best time so far is a 1:33.057.

Could we see a few new lap records set this season?

Times in testing suggest so - highlighted by Nico Rosberg's benchmark time of 1:22.792.

Pirelli predicts lap times could be two seconds quicker than last year.

"The new rear structure increases traction and helps drivers get onto the power earlier: one of the factors that has led to faster lap times this year," says Pirelli Motorsport director Paul Hembrey.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton are back out on the circuit. Rosberg, still on the medium tyres, goes third with a 1:29.937.

Kimi Raikkonen goes into P1 with 1:28.842 on the soft tyres, a time which is then bettered by Sebastian Vettel, who posts a 1:28.412.

Ferrari have sent out Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen on the soft tyres. Let's see what times they can do now.

Image source, Mercedes

Mercedes:, external Speaking of the weather, it's a beauty here in Melbourne: blue sky, sunshine, air 20deg, track 40deg... mega!

Mega? Is this the '90s?

Kevin Magnussen's McLaren team-mate Jenson Button heads out for the first time in FP2. He has yet to set a lap time in this session.