Lewis Hamilton has set the pace in the second practice session ahead of this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

The 29-year-old finished narrowly ahead of Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, although the race was cut short due to the red flag being shown after heavy smoke appeared from Toro Roso driver Jean-Eric Vergne's engine.

Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull, who is currently third in the drivers' standings, made an uncharacteristic mistake to finish in 10th place.

Valtteri Bottas took third, while Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel completed the top five ahead of qualifying tomorrow afternoon.

Rosberg, winner of four of the last five races on this track, came out on top in the day's first practice session.

Full practice standings:

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
4. Jenson Button (McLaren)
5. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
6. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
7. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
8. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren)
9. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
10. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
11. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)
12. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India)
13. Romain Grosjean (Lotus Renault)
14. Felipe Massa(Williams)
15. Sergio Perez (Force India)
16. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus Renault)
17. Adrian Sutil (Sauber)
18. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber)
19. Marcus Ericsson (Caterham)
20. Jules Bianchi (Marussia)
21. Max Chilton (Marussia)
22. Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham)