Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton is 50 points ahead of title rival Sebastian Vettel with five races remaining. In this picture, Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes WO9 on track during practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on Oct. 5, 2018, in Suzuka. Clive Mason/Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton laid down the marker by posting the fastest times in the opening two free practice sessions of the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday making him the overwhelming favorite to win the race Sunday.

The Mercedes driver laid down a time of 1.28.961 in the first free practice session, which was almost half a second faster than his teammate Valtteri Bottas, who was in second place. Title rivals Ferrari, who used the faster super soft compound compared to Hamilton supposedly slower soft compound were almost a second back in fourth and fifth.

The first session normally does not give a clear indication of the pecking order, but the second session which is held at the same time the race will be held Sunday usually provides a clearer indication as to the standings and there was no difference compared to the morning.

Hamilton again blitzed the rest of the field with a time of 1.28.217, which was set on the quicker super soft tires. And the British racer’s time was again almost half a second faster than teammate Bottas in second and over eight tenths faster than title rival Sebastian Vettel.

The Mercedes cars have clearly made a step forward in the last couple of races, while Ferrari seemed to have lost their edge. And Hamilton looks to be in a league of his own and is also exuding the confidence of a driver on the verge of winning the Drivers’ championship.

"This track is awesome. I'm having the best day!" Hamilton said on the team radio after completing his flying laps, which is not a good sign for Ferrari and Vettel going into the race, which they have to win to stay alive in the championship.

The German driver is 50 points behind his fellow four-time world champion and the Japanese Grand Prix is his last chance to begin closing the gap. Another Hamilton win in Suzuka will all but end Vettel’s hopes of winning his fifth title ahead of the Briton.

Ferrari, meanwhile, did not have the best of days as both Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen struggled to find the optimum balance in the car, which is crucial at circuit like Suzuka. Despite having an uninterrupted session without any car trouble, they were showing a high amount of degradation compared to their competitors.

Ferrari’s leading driver admitted that it is a concern ahead of the race, but is hoping that they can work it out before the third practice session and qualifying on Saturday.

“You can always do something, the question is whether it works,” Vettel said after FP2, as quoted on Planet F1. “Obviously you don’t want to commit suicide so I think if we attack we still try to be reasonable.”

“It is a long race. Today I think we were both sliding a little bit too much and therefore damaging the tires a bit more than others,” he added. “But overall I think it has been okay. It has been a clean Friday with no interruptions, no issues with the car or anything.”

“I think we can focus on our work and now we try to squeeze out everything that is left in the car for tomorrow.”

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