The F1 world champion led a Red Bull 1-2 in opening practice which was red-flagged midway through as Logan Sargeant crashed heavily, which ruled him out of FP2 as his Williams car was repaired.
But the American driver missed relatively little running as damp conditions meant no representative running in the dry or wet was possible in second practice. Oscar Piastri topped the session from Lewis Hamilton with a late lap on the softs.
With track time limited for all the drivers, it means final practice on Saturday will be vital to nail set-up ahead of qualifying and the race at Suzuka.
