Fresh from taking victory from pole position in Shanghai two weeks ago, Kimi Antonelli drops us into the 1:29s with his latest lap time to bank the quickest marker ahead of his Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

George Russell is able to shift his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli out of his seat and down into third place but the Briton can't go one better and swipe away top spot from the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Russell's time is 1:30.395 on the soft tyre, with Oscar Piastri slotting into fourth for McLaren.

Valtteri Bottas: "[Ocon] was there again, same place."

Cadillac: "OK, he's not helping us."

Image source, Getty Images

It's Mercedes versus Ferrari at the top of the timesheets as Charles Leclerc lights up purple across the lap to step over Kimi Antonelli and claim the quickest marker of the session so far with a 1:30.229 on the C3 soft compound. The gap between Leclerc and teenager Antonelli, who won his maiden F1 grand prix in China last time out, is 0.166 seconds.

Jennie Gow
F1 pit-lane reporter at Suzuka

Lando Norris' car has come down from its high blocks, which is a good sign.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Ollie Bearman has had such a solid start to the year and we've known he has these flashes of speed. But I think to have that little bit of dominance already with these new regulations and less experience compared to his team-mate...

Arvid Lindblad is another driver I'm so impressed with. He's basically taken to it like a duck to water. He's done such a good job. I'm hugely impressed with him.

"Oh my God. The McLaren."

Charles Leclerc pushes Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton down the timesheets with his opening offer on the soft compound but teenager Kimi Antonelli can better both the Scuderia drivers with his first flyer on the red rubber. The Mercedes driver's time is a 1:30.418, which is 0.118 seconds quicker than Leclerc.

George Russell can't beat his team-mate Antonelli on this occasion and has to settle for third on the timing screen.

Nico Hulkenberg, meanwhile, is far from happy with Oscar Piastri's positioning at 130R, calling his Audi pit wall to flag the Australian's lack of awareness.

Jennie Gow
F1 pit-lane reporter at Suzuka

Image source, Getty Images

Red Bull aren't happy with the feeling or balance of the car. Max Verstappen was candid yesterday saying it doesn't feel great. They've got new sidepod geometry this weekend but I'm not sure how much that affects things. It doesn't seem to have made anything better.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Suzuka

The energy recovery system problem that Lando Norris has suffered today is the third hybrid-system issue McLaren have had in the past two races. Mercedes are right on the edge of reliability with all their batteries and it's just that McLaren have been unlucky that the problems that stop cars running have hit them so far.

What chances would you give Lewis Hamilton of securing pole position later on? Hit the the thumbs below or let us know your thoughts, like David, using the get involved button on the page.

The seven-time world champion completes another hot lap and goes ahead of the Alpine of Pierre Gasly with a 1:31.056 on the soft compound.

Pierre Gasly has taken on the medium compound for the opening stages of this final practice session in Japan and the Frenchman pulls out 0.032 seconds on Lewis Hamilton, who also improves on his previous lap on the softs, to go top of the timesheets once again.

Jennie Gow
F1 pit-lane reporter at Suzuka

I was passing the F1 hospitality unit on the way down here and the team principals were huddled in a meeting and I just wonder what they might have been talking about and if it's a case of 'we need to address the qualifying situation.'

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It's a slow start to final practice but more drivers are peeping out the pit lane to join the two Alpine drivers. Pierre Gasly goes above his team-mate Franco Colapinto with a time of 1:32.860 on the medium compound, as the likes of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas for Cadillac and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton join the track on the C3 soft tyre.

Hamilton wasn't too impressed with his Ferrari on Friday, highlighting the car's lack of pace compared with their rivals. The Briton crosses the line after an opening flying lap and jumps above Gasly by 0.577 seconds.

There were reliability issues up and down the garages on Friday, with Lando Norris' hydraulics failure just one of the problems curtailing a driver's run plan.

Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad was called back to base early in second practice and had to sit out the session because of a gearbox problem, while technical issues left Gabriel Bortoleto on the sidelines for most of the hour. The Audi mechanics worked hard to get the Brazilian back out on track with 10 minutes to spare.

Sergio Perez collided with the Williams of Alex Albon in first practice and needed some repairs to his Cadillac floor before he could join the action in the second hour. The stewards investigated the incident but decided to take no further action.

Alpine's Franco Colapinto, who received a warning from the stewards for driving erratically during practice yesterday, is the only car taking in the sights and sounds of the Suzuka circuit.

The Argentine driver is joined by his team-mate Pierre Gasly, who is seventh in the drivers' championship, one point above four-time world champion Max Verstappen.

Both Alpine drivers have medium tyres bolted on and Colapinto puts the first time on the board with a 1:33.665.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Image source, Getty Images

McLaren haven't had a great start to the year. They're struggling to get that power unit and get everything talking to each other. They obviously know the circuit but there's nothing like getting valuable track time for both drivers. It's crucial to get and they're not going to be getting it.

Jennie Gow
F1 pit-lane reporter at Suzuka

Another beautiful day in Suzuka, blue sky and sunshine. Still a little bit chilly and the wind has picked up quite a lot from yesterday.

While the McLaren mechanics continue to work on Lando Norris' car, the rest of the field is ready to head out for third practice.