Alonso encouraged by quick start

"It was a trouble-free day," said Alonso, who arrived in Fuji fresh from having scored his first win of the season in Singapore two weeks ago.

"We covered lots of laps, which was the priority and that allowed us to advance with our programme.

"The first signs are therefore encouraging and we will now review our data and work on our settings ahead of the final free practice session tomorrow morning to be ready for qualifying," added the Renault driver.

Teammate Nelsinho Piquet, driving at Fuji for the first time, was 12th quickest, the Brazilian admitting he was feeling comfortable with his car right from the start of the day.

"The circuit is interesting, not particularly difficult, and I was able to get comfortable with it quite quickly," he said.

"We have made good progress with our technical programme today and although we still have a lot to do from now until tomorrow, it's definitely a good start and a sound basis to work from for the rest of the weekend."