Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

Daniel Ricciardo has found himself onto the grass (at the exit of Turn Two) and has done a 360 and has made his way back onto the track, no damage seemingly to that car but the tyres are covered in a lot of grass and muck.

Daniel Ricciardo has also had minimal running at Suzuka, as the Australian sat out of first practice to allow Red Bull Junior driver Ayumu Iwasa a go in the RB yesterday. Ricciardo finds himself at Turn Two and just like Kevin Magnussen at the start of the session, he loses control of the car and ends up doing a bit of grass cutting.

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 1:30.065 (soft)

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.128 (medium)

3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.388 (medium)

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.494 (medium)

5. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) +0.726 (soft)

"I just have zero confidence in the car."

Alex Albon has some bad news for the Williams, who are playing catch-up on the other side of the garage after Logan Sargeant's shunt in practice on Friday...

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

You will use this session to dial in and really dial in the car and make sure you have got the best car possible going in to the next session, and also you want decent race pace. Max Verstappen is out there on the medium tyre, same with Perez, Leclerc, you've got others who are opting to start on the soft tyre.

Image source, Getty Images

Williams needed a clean session in Japan after the chassis nightmares of Melbourne but their weekend got off to the worst possible start when Logan Sargeant suffered a heavy crash at Turn Seven.

The American lost control at the high-speed corner and caused extensive damage to the car which left him on the sidelines during second practice. However, much to the team's relief, the repaired chassis that Sargeant is running this weekend - Alex Albon still has his car - came through the impact unscathed.

Max Verstappen topped the timesheets in the first hour followed by his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez and Australian Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz in third. The two Mercedes were fourth and fifth.

In second practice, Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completed flying laps on the soft tyre late on but the session was a write off due to the slippery conditions.

Image source, Getty Images

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

It's still a little bit patchy from the rain that has fallen overnight.

Track temperature is around 24 degrees which is slightly warmer than what we had yesterday in FP2. The air temperature is around 17 degrees.

"What the ****. Again with the drivability - have a look, please."

Sergio Perez needs the assistance of a fruity word to explain how difficult he is finding the drivability of the Red Bull. The Mexican, who is third on the timesheets, urges his pit wall to take a look.

"My mirrors are vibrating quite a bit."

The two Red Bull drivers are on the medium C2 tyre, while Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes is taking the C3 red softs out for a few laps. Max Verstappen put down the quickest time of a 1:30.193 but seven-time world champion Hamilton has bettered that by two tenths.

It's cherry blossom season in Japan, so many fans are snapping away at the beautiful scenery around the Suzuka circuit.

On track, Kevin Magnussen brings out a brief yellow flag as he takes a trip across the grass but the Haas driver is able to catch his mistake and carry on with his lap.

Image source, Getty Images

The likes of Max Verstappen have darted out of the garage in order to grab as much running as possible in third practice after that washout session yesterday but over at McLaren, Lando Norris is still walking around the paddock, signing autographs.

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

The good news today, it is not raining, it is dry and even a little bit sunny. It's a bit cooler though to the temperatures we are used to seeing for the Japanese Grand Prix, over the last few years it's normally held in October in the latter half of the season.

The skies are not exactly blue but conditions are dry and the fans are packed in.

Third practice is green.

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Hello, folks. It's ridiculously early on a Saturday; that's all that needs to be said.

Second practice gets going at 03:30 BST.

Qualifying for the front row of the grid goes green at 07:00 BST.

Live commentary is available on BBC 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and at the top of this page using the audio icon.

Harry Benjamin, British racing driver Alice Powell and BBC F1 corespondent Andrew Benson have all set their alarms to take us through both sessions.

Image source, Getty Images

Rain during second practice on Friday left the majority of drivers scratching around the garages, looking for something else to do other than driver around the iconic Suzuka circuit.

Will conditions be more favourable for today's all-important pole position shootout?