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By Sean Chaney
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McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen clocked the fastest lap of a wet first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
Kovalainen, who has never before raced at the famous figure-of-eight-shaped track, recorded a time of one minute 40.356 late on as the track dried out.
Seven different drivers topped the timesheets in a session that offered little indication of real race pace.
Kovalainen's McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton was sixth while championship leader Jenson Button was 18th quickest.
Button can win the championship if he scores five more points than his Brawn GP team-mate and closest title rival Rubens Barrichello in Japan.
Barrichello was ninth quickest in Friday's first practice session but it is difficult to read too much into the rain-affected session.
Teams usually use Friday's two 90-minute run-outs to experiment with fuel loads and assess any changes and developments they have made to their cars.
Many teams decided to cut back on running in the first practice session, with rain a possibility this weekend, rather than use up any of their supply of wet weather tyres.
There was a new face in one of the Toyotas as Japanese test driver Kamui Kobayashi stepped into the cockpit to replace the unwell Timo Glock, and the 23-year-old put in a solid display to finish 19th in front of his home fans.
Glock, who is suffering from a heavy cold and fever reportedly has a temperature of over 39C, but he is expected to be fit to return to action in time for Saturday's qualifying session.
There was plenty for the Japanese crowd to get excited about as Williams' Kazuki Nakajima twice set the fastest lap before finishing the session second quickest.
Lewis Hamilton was the first man to set a hot lap before Renault's Fernando Alonso, who won the last Japanese Grand Prix held at Suzuka in 2006, bettered his effort.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who needs to finish on the podium in Japan to keep his slim world championship chances alive, then produced a scintillating lap in the Suzuka spray to top the timesheets.
The medium downforce track with its mix of high and low-speed corners is expected to suit the Red Bulls.
Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi and Force India's Adrian Sutil also posted the quickest lap time in the closing stages of the session.
Most drivers stayed out of trouble in the first session but Renault's Romain Grosjean and Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi ended up on the grass at Spoon Curve.
Friday's second practice session gets underway at 0600 BST.
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