FUJI, Japan -- World championship leader Lewis Hamilton grabbed the early initiative ahead of Sunday's crucial Japanese Grand Prix by setting the fastest time in practice on Friday.
Hamilton clocked a time of one minute 18.734 seconds on the 4.563 kilometer Fuji Speedway circuit which is being used for a Grand Prix for the first time.
His McLaren team-mate and nearest championship challenger Fernando Alonso was two tenths of a second slower in the afternoon session.
The morning practice had been a story of Ferrari dominance as Kimi Raikkonen topped the timesheets followed by team-mate Felipe Massa, with the McLaren pair over half a second off the pace.
But rookie sensation Hamilton upped the ante in the second session by setting fastest times of the day in all three sectors.
Massa claimed third but was nearly three-quarters of a second adrift and Jarno Trulli gave the home fans cause optimism for this weekend with a surprise fourth place in his Toyota ahead of Raikkonen.
The race is being held against the backdrop of increasing tension between Hamilton and two-time champion Alonso, with the pair being involved in a series of incidents in the battle for the Formula One crown.
Hamilton was quoted on BBC Sport Online on Friday claiming that the McLaren were now "favoring" him because of recent events.
"Since what's gone on, they (McLaren) have realised who the real people are in the team and who they should really back," he said.
"Alonso is not the person I imagined him to be, but that's the way it is.
"When you are in a relationship with a certain amount of people, you do the best job you can and want to show to everyone that you are the one for the team.
"In this situation, I was a rookie and he was the two-time world champion coming into the team. "He is the one that was looked at to bring it home, but eventually I have earned more respect from them."
Hamilton leads the standings by just two points from Alonso who has steadily cut the gap after being as much as 14 points adrift.
The McLaren team were fined $100 millon and docked all their points in the constructors' championship in the Formula One 'spying' scandal.
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Hamilton clocked a time of one minute 18.734 seconds on the 4.563 kilometer Fuji Speedway circuit which is being used for a Grand Prix for the first time.
His McLaren team-mate and nearest championship challenger Fernando Alonso was two tenths of a second slower in the afternoon session.
The morning practice had been a story of Ferrari dominance as Kimi Raikkonen topped the timesheets followed by team-mate Felipe Massa, with the McLaren pair over half a second off the pace.
But rookie sensation Hamilton upped the ante in the second session by setting fastest times of the day in all three sectors.
Massa claimed third but was nearly three-quarters of a second adrift and Jarno Trulli gave the home fans cause optimism for this weekend with a surprise fourth place in his Toyota ahead of Raikkonen.
The race is being held against the backdrop of increasing tension between Hamilton and two-time champion Alonso, with the pair being involved in a series of incidents in the battle for the Formula One crown.
Hamilton was quoted on BBC Sport Online on Friday claiming that the McLaren were now "favoring" him because of recent events.
"Since what's gone on, they (McLaren) have realised who the real people are in the team and who they should really back," he said.
"Alonso is not the person I imagined him to be, but that's the way it is.
"When you are in a relationship with a certain amount of people, you do the best job you can and want to show to everyone that you are the one for the team.
"In this situation, I was a rookie and he was the two-time world champion coming into the team. "He is the one that was looked at to bring it home, but eventually I have earned more respect from them."
Hamilton leads the standings by just two points from Alonso who has steadily cut the gap after being as much as 14 points adrift.
The McLaren team were fined $100 millon and docked all their points in the constructors' championship in the Formula One 'spying' scandal.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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