George Russell and Lewis Hamilton made it a Mercedes one-two ahead of title-chasing Max Verstappen in a wet-dry second practice on Friday for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Runaway Red Bull leader Verstappen can clinch his second straight world title on Sunday if he wins the race with the fastest lap, no matter what his rivals do.

But he was beaten to the quickest time in the second practice session by the Mercedes pair, with Russell clocking a fastest lap of 1min 41.935sec.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton followed his fellow Briton 0.235sec behind, with Verstappen coming in third, a sizeable 0.851sec behind Russell.

A rainy start to the session at Suzuka meant the drivers began on wet tyres but switched to intermediates once the conditions improved.

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