Toyota’s Timo Glock was the surprise leader in the second session of free practice for Sunday's crucial Japanse Grand Prix.

He topped the timesheet with a time of 1min 18.383secs to edge the Enstone-based Renault F1 team’s Fernando Alonso by 0.043secs.

World championship leader Lewis Hamilton was pleased with his performance as the McLaren driver prepares for this weekend’s crucial event.

The 23-year-old was fastest in the first session as he clocked a time of one minute 18.910 seconds but finished third in the afternoon.

However, Hamilton was happy with the day’s workout on the Fuji Speedway circuit as he looks to increase his seven-point lead over Ferrari’s Felipe Massa in the drivers’ standings.

“I feel very happy with the way the day went,” he said. “The car is very competitive here and that is always a good sign that we can compete for a win this weekend.

“Fuji is a place I really enjoy. It is not the easiest of tracks because it requires a good set-up to get the best from the car but I had no complaints today."

Red Bull’s David Coulthard improved from 19th in the first session to 17th in the second and the Scot admitted he found the circuit a challenge.

Jenson Button, meanwhile, believes there is still work to do after the Honda driver finished 17th and 20th in P1 and P2 respectively.

“I just had very little grip and I felt like the tyres were graining immediately,” he said.

“We will have a look at the reasons for this ahead of qualifying tomorrow.”