Japanese GP: Red Bulls 1-2 in final practice
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| Sebastian Vettel |
Sebastian Vettel went quickest in final practice for the Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Ed Bull teammate Mark Webber. Ferrari's Felipe Massa, driving as if his job depended on it, was third quickest, with Michael Schumacher fourth in the Mercedes and Sergio Perez fifth in the Sauber ahead of teammate Kamui Kobayashi.
The McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton wound up only eighth and 13th and worse yet, championship leader Fernando Alonso was only 11th fastest.
Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Behind | Laps |
| 1. | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1m32.136s | +0.000s | 16 |
| 2. | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1m32.371s | +0.235s | 19 |
| 3. | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1m32.824s | +0.688s | 12 |
| 4. | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1m32.918s | +0.782s | 22 |
| 5. | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1m32.920s | +0.784s | 18 |
| 6. | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1m32.924s | +0.788s | 14 |
| 7. | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1m33.008s | +0.872s | 20 |
| 8. | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1m33.025s | +0.889s | 15 |
| 9. | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1m33.094s | +0.958s | 16 |
| 10. | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1m33.160s | +1.024s | 15 |
| 11. | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1m33.184s | +1.048s | 13 |
| 12. | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus-Renault | 1m33.224s | +1.088s | 14 |
| 13. | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1m33.56$s | +1.433s | 13 |
| 14. | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1m33.722s | +1.586s | 17 |
| 15. | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1m33.899s | +1.763s | 22 |
| 16. | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1m33.984s | +1.848s | 18 |
| 17. | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1m34.023s | +1.887s | 18 |
| 18. | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1m34.369s | +2.233s | 11 |
| 19. | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1m35.568s | +3.432s | 18 |
| 20. | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1m36.355s | +4.219s | 17 |
| 21. | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1m36.389s | +4.253s | 11 |
| 22. | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1m36.517s | +4.381s | 17 |
| 23. | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1m36.649s | +4.513s | 11 |
| 24. | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1m36.875s | +4.739s | 15 |