Nico Rosberg edges out title rival Lewis by 0.072 seconds in practice

Nico Rosberg

Suzuka: World championship leader Nico Rosberg set the pace in practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, topping both sessions yesterday ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton. The German lapped the Suzuka circuit with a fastest time of one minute, 32.250 seconds, edging Mercedes teammate Hamilton out by just 0.072 seconds after the Briton, who had been 0.214 seconds down in the opening session, closed the gap in the afternoon.

Rosberg extended his advantage over Hamilton to 23 points in the overall standings after the reigning champion was forced to retire 16 laps from the finish while holding a comfortable lead in the last race in Malaysia.

As a result, Hamilton heads into tomorrow's Japanese round desperately needing to revive his title hopes by clinching a third successive win at the Suzuka circuit.

Kimi Raikkonen, fourth in the morning, ended the day third fastest for Ferrari ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Daniel Ricciardo, who inherited victory in Malaysia after Hamilton was sidelined, ended the day 12th fastest.
The Australian had been fifth quickest in the morning. But a virtual safety car, deployed after Esteban Gutierrez's Haas ground to a halt at the side of the track, forced him to abandon his flying lap in the afternoon.