Danill Kvyat is quickest in a rain-affected FP2 in Suzuka

In the second practice session in Japan, Daniil Kvyat topped the timesheets ahead of the Mercedes drivers of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in a rain-affected session at the Suzuka circuit.

The rain eased off ahead of the start of the second session, allowing drivers to head out on intermediate tyres. But initially the two Mercedes drivers topped the timesheets, thereby showing that they haven't to me lost their form like they did in Singapore last weekend.

During FP2, a number of drivers ran wide in the wet but none suffered major damage to the car. The most bizarre incident came early in the session when Pastor Maldonado drove clean off the track as he appeared to take his eye off the road on the exit of Turn 2.

The conditions worsened in the final 30 minutes as the rain returned, resulting in a number of drivers reporting aquaplaning over the radio. Sebastian Vettel recorded the most laps from the session but the majority decided to stay in the garage.

But it was Daniil Kvyat who topped the timesheets with a lap time of 1.48.277 ahead of Nico Rosberg in second place who was 0.023 seconds behind him but was ahead of Lewis Hamilton who finished in third place who was 0.576 seconds behind the Red Bull of Kvyat.

Daniel Ricciardo finished the session in fourth place ahead of Sebastian Vettel in fifth place, Kimi Raikkonen in sixth place and Carlos Sainz Jr in seventh place. Max Verstappen ended the session in eighth place ahead of Felipe Nasr in ninth place and Pastor Maldonado who rounds off the top ten finishers.

Nico Hulkenberg finished the session in eleventh place ahead of Jenson Button in twelfth place, Marcus Ericsson in thirteenth place, Sergio Perez in fourteenth place and Romain Grosjean in fifteenth place.

As we head into the latter stages of the grid, Felipe Massa ended the session in a disappointing sixteenth place ahead of Fernando Alonso in seventeenth place, the two Manor drivers of Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi in eighteenth and nineteenth place. Valtteri Bottas did not set a time during the session.

The classification of FP2 for the Japanese GP is as follows:-

1. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull Renault, 1.48.277
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 0.023s
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 0.576s
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-Renault, 0.820s
5. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1.991s
6. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 2.042s
7. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 2.141s
8. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 2.265s
9. Felipe Nasr, Sauber-Ferrari, 2.691s
10. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus-Mercedes, 3.280s
11. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India-Mercedes, 3.397s
12. Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda, 3.584s
13. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari, 3.657s
14. Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes, 3.793s
15. Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Mercedes, 4.257s
16. Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes, 4.488s
17. Fernando Alonso, McLaren-Honda, 6.962
18. Will Stevens, Manor, 9.782s
19. Alexander Rossi, Manor, 11.142s
20. Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes, No Time

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa