Free Practice 2 results - Japanese Grand Prix 2016 - Ricciardo halted by Gutiérrez's virtual safety car

Daniel Ricciardo held up during final practice — Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images

Rosberg was the fastest driver on the Suzuka track for the second session in a row, but Hamilton managed to close the gap to his teammate to just seven hundredths of a second. There was a worrying moment for Nico when smoke was seen issuing from the rear of the Mercedes as he waited at the end of the pit lane for a practice start, but it all amounted to nothing.

Max Verstappen split the Ferrari drivers up top, whilst Daniel Ricciardo settled down in twelfth having had his flying lap ruined by a virtual safety car. That was brought about by Esteban Gutiérrez who parked up at the side of the track with a turbo problem, finishing off a difficult day for Haas.

Position	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1:32.250	35
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1:32.322	35
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Scuderia Ferrari	1:32.573	26
4	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:33.061	29
5	Sebastian Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari	1:33.103	34
6	Sergio Pérez	Sahara Force India F1 Team	1:33.570	37
7	Nico Hülkenberg	Sahara Force India F1 Team	1:33.873	35
8	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	1:33.985	37
9	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Martini Racing	1:34.028	33
10	Carlos Sainz Jr	Scuderia Toro Rosso	1:34.086	33
11	Felipe Massa	Williams Martini Racing	1:34.127	33
12	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:34.150	29
13	Romain Grosjean	Haas F1 Team	1:34.241	33
14	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso	1:34.305	27
15	Kevin Magnussen	Renault Sport F1 Team	1:34.339	36
16	Jenson Button	McLaren Honda	1:34.398	29
17	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas F1 Team	1:34.643	11
18	Jolyon Palmer	Renault Sport F1 Team	1:34.760	40
19	Felipe Nasr	Sauber F1 Team	1:34.824	26
20	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing MRT	1:35.292	30
21	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing MRT	1:35.400	37
22	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber F1 Team	1:36.318	26