SUZUKA: Oscar Piastri went fastest today for a McLaren one-two in a chaotic second practice for the Japanese Grand Prix that was red-flagged four times and saw Jack Doohan crash heavily.

Two of the red flags were for trackside fires during a badly disrupted afternoon session in which Australia's Piastri clocked a fastest lap of 1min 28.114sec.

He pipped teammate and championship leader Lando Norris by 0.049sec in dry, sunny conditions at Suzuka, where home hero Yuki Tsunoda showed promise on his Red Bull debut.

Piastri and Norris – who went quickest in first practice – have won one grand prix each in a dominant start to the season from McLaren.

They had to keep their wits about them in an eventful second session that saw Australian rookie Doohan badly damage his Alpine in a heavy smash into the barriers.

There was further drama when Spaniard Fernando Alonso beached his Aston Martin in the gravel and two fires broke out on the grass around the track.

RB's Isack Hadjar was third fastest, 0.404sec behind Piastri, followed by Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and RB's Liam Lawson.

Mercedes' George Russell was sixth, followed by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's four-time world champion Max Verstappen.