Rosberg leads Hamilton by 0.215s in FP1 at Suzuka

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Nico Rosberg set the pace during the first practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix, leading Lewis Hamilton by 0.215s.

The two Mercedes drivers used the soft tyre for the majority of the session, with Rosberg's time of 1:32.431 leaving him over a second clear of third-placed Sebastian Vettel as Ferrari also used the softs. Vettel and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen were separated by 0.3s, with the pair enjoying a similar advantage over Red Bull.

AS IT HAPPENED: Japanese Grand Prix - FP1

Daniel Ricciardo was fifth ahead of Max Verstappen, but both drivers only used the hard and medium compound tyres during FP1 and will close the gap on the soft tyre. It was a case of two-by-two for the complete top eight, with the two Force Indias of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez seventh and eighth respectively.

Fernando Alonso was ninth quickest but had an eventful session which saw his running limited. The McLaren driver had a spin at Spoon - Turn 14 - and clouted the tyre barrier with the rear of his car, which was later found to have a damaged exhaust which ended his running after only ten laps.

Alonso wasn't the only driver to have an off-track excursion, with Romain Grosjean running wide at Degner and just touching the barrier with his front wing. The Frenchman was able to reverse his Haas out of the gravel to rejoin the circuit, ensuring he could return to the garage for a new front wing.

Spoon proved tricky for a number of drivers as Perez and Verstappen followed Alonso in going off, but both were able to control their respective cars in the run-off area and rejoin. Raikkonen also ran wide at the hairpin after a lock-up, with a brief trip across the grass before continuing without damage.

Jolyon Palmer ended the session bottom of the times after Renault discovered an electrical fault which limited him to just 13 laps during the opening 90 minutes.

Chris Medland's 2016 Japanese Grand Prix preview

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Scene at the Malaysian Grand Prix

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Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
01	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:32.431	24
02	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:32.646	21
03	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:33.525	19
04	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:33.817	17
05	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:34.112	23
06	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:34.379	26
07	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:34.530	28
08	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:34.767	30
09	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:35.003	10
10	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:35.381	31
11	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:35.446	23
12	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:35.672	27
13	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:35.677	24
14	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:35.688	17
15	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:35.967	15
16	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:36.169	23
17	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	1:36.219	21
18	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:36.294	19
19	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1:36.822	30
20	Esteban Ocon	Manor	1:37.797	29
21	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor	1:37.966	24
22	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:37.992	13

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.