Piastri tops the timing sheets in a rain-affected FP2 at Suzuka

Oscar Piastri finished FP2 at the top of the timing charts as only he, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc set times on dry tyres in changeable conditions at the Japanese Grand Prix.

As a result, only five lap times were set in the hour-long session, meaning teams missed out on a lot of running which will now be done in a busy FP3 tomorrow.

Rain affects running in FP2

FP1 just missed out on the rain threatening to fall onto the Suzuka Circuit, but that rain could not hold off from FP2. Just before the session started, the rain fell and dampened the track, meaning teams and drivers were in no rush to head out.

One driver who missed out on running in FP2 was Logan Sargeant. The American crashed in FP1, leaving his Williams with significant damage that was unable to be repaired for the second free practice session. However, the chassis of his car was intact, which was a huge relief for both the team and driver, as they did not have a spare chassis at their disposal once again.

However, the fans in the grandstand were not left too disappointed. They saw some cars come onto the track 12 minutes into the session, with both Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo having some sighting laps to see what the conditions were like.

But with the rain increasing while both Hamilton and Ricciardo were on track, they headed straight into the pits very quickly after completing just two laps each.

For Ricciardo, the rain was a huge inconvenience, as he missed out on the dry running in FP1 after Super Formula and former F2 driver Ayumu Iwasa was in his place.

Cars get out on track and set lap times

The rain continued to fall until halfway through the session, meaning the main running that was done was on the intermediate tyres.

Only Racing Bulls did some running and data collecting on the green-walled tyres with just 20 minutes of the session left to go.

Ricciardo and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda were the first to set lap times 40 minutes into FP2, with the latter setting the fastest time on the intermediates at his home race, entertaining his fans in the grandstands.

Other teams and drivers went out on multiple sighting laps to try and see if the conditions were improving out on track, which they did not until the final few minutes of the session.

Piastri was the first to set a time on dry tyres, knocking Tsunoda off the top with the soft tyres bolted onto his McLaren. Hamilton finished five-tenths behind the Papaya-coloured car of Piastri, with Charles Leclerc rounding out the top three with a complete lap. Tsunoda and Ricciardo finished behind with their intermediate times.