Red flagpublished at 02:52 British Summer Time 6 October 2017

02:52 BST 6 October 2017

Red flag!

Carlos Sainz's Toro Rosso has crashed. He's OK.

"I don't know what happened," he reports. "I lost the car."

Tom Clarkson
BBC Radio 5 live commentator

I have just been watching practice starts. Daniel Ricciardo got away very cleanly. Lewis Hamilton was very lairy. The initial get away was good but the moment he slammed it into second gear the rear end got very loose.

A mistake on Max Verstappen's flying lap sees him kicking up dust in the gravel. He remains sixth quickest.

1) Hamilton 1:29.377

2) Vettel +0.042

3) Ricciardo +0.164

4) Raikkonen +0.602

5) Bottas +0.774

6) Verstappen +1.385

7) Hulkenberg +1.597

8) Alonso +2.211

9) Grosjean +2.342

10) Palmer +2.380

Image source, Getty Images

That's quick!

Sebastian Vettel does a 1:29.419 to go second quickest, just 0.042s slower than Lewis Hamilton but he's on the softs whereas Hamilton set his time on the super-softs.

Encouraging signs for Ferrari fans.

Lewis Hamilton does improve on the super-softs as a 1:29.377 puts him back on top of the pile, a tenth of a second clear of Daniel Ricciardo.

Valtteri Bottas improves but not by much as a 1:30.151. The Finn then had another big moment, this time sliding over the kerb at Turn 2.

Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton are back out on the track now with the super-softs on now. Let's see what they can do on that tyre.

Daniel Ricciardo dips below the 1:30s with a 1:29.541 to go fastest of all, half a second clear of Lewis Hamilton but the Red Bull is on the quicker super-softs.

Fernando Alonso gets straight down to business! He rattles off a 1:31.588 on super-softs to go seventh quickest.

Amit Mandalia: After the last two races Ferrari & Seb have had, has this race become a ‘must win’ for Seb to have any chance of the title?

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Looming grid penalty for Sainz with his fifth engine and turbo and sixth MGU-H. He'll be at the back.

If there was an issue with Fernando Alonso's McLaren it appears to have been resolved because he is making his way onto the track now.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton has found seven tenths of a second to retake P1 thanks to a 1:30.042.

The Ferraris are also up and running as Kimi Raikkonen does a 1:30.512 to go fourth quickest while Sebastian Vettel (1:30.641) is fifth quickest.

Not seen much of Fernando Alonso in this session. With 25 minutes gone he has done an installation lap and that's it.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Before Japan, there was some discussion about whether Honda would introduce its latest engine upgrade for its home race. In the end, McLaren and its soon-to-be-former engine partner decided against a grid penalty.

“I am happy to not have the penalty here,” said Fernando Alonso, who posted an amusing Instagram video of himself wearing a car-hat a fan had given him. “We want to maximise the result here. It is what the fans expect from us as well. The upgrade is small so the difference will not impact too much the results. so being with both cars in the best possible configuration in the possible starting position is the best chance to score points on Sunday.”

Alonso said he believed a place in the top 10 on the grid and points was “a real possibility” after the “small surprise” of the car’s relatively strong performance in Malaysia.

Image source, Rex Features

A big weekend for McLaren and Honda - their final Japanese Grand Prix as partners.

But, just as they prepare to go their separate ways, performances on the track have been getting better with Stoffel Vandoorne particularly impressive with back-to-back seventh place finishes in the last two races.

Mercedes trading places at the top of the order as Valtteri Bottas goes half a second quicker than Lewis Hamilton with a 1:30.517.

He then briefly forgets about doing the old turning the steering wheel round a corner thing as he goes onto the grass at Turn 1.