The Finn kept the pressure on his McLaren [ Images ] rivals by lapping the scenic Speedway, overlooked by Japan's [ Images ] Mount Fuji and hosting a grand prix for the first time since 1977, in one minute 19.333 seconds.

Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa [ Images ], whose slender title hopes could finally fade away this weekend, was 0.379 slower in second place on a bright morning at a circuit notorious for fickle weather conditions.

• McLaren know who they should support: Hamilton

McLaren's double world champion Fernando Alonso [ Images ] was third quickest, 0.548 off Raikkonen's pace, with championship leading team mate Lewis Hamilton [ Images ].

Hamilton leads Spaniard Alonso by two points with three races remaining while Raikkonen, who led Massa in a Ferrari one-two at the previous Belgian Grand Prix, is 13 points behind the 22-year-old British rookie.

RECENT FORM

Germany's [ Images ] Nico Rosberg [ Images ] continued his strong recent form with the fifth fastest time in his Toyota-powered Williams with Poland's Robert Kubica [ Images ] sixth for BMW Sauber [ Images ] and Austrian Alex Wurz seventh for Williams.

Williams are chasing Renault [ Images ] for third place in the constructors' championship, with the outgoing champions 11 points ahead but having stopped developing their car to focus on building a better one for 2008.

• Alonso says he'll do talking on track

Ferrari have already won the title after McLaren were stripped of their 2007 constructors' points and fined a record $100 million for having Ferrari technical information in their possession.

German rookie Adrian Sutil [ Images ], one of the few drivers to have prior experience of racing at Fuji from his days in Japanese Formula Three, was a strong ninth for Spyker.

Briton Anthony Davidson [ Images ] gave Super Aguri a solid start to their home race with 10th fastest time while Japanese team mate Takuma Sato [ Images ] was 17th after spending the first hour in the garage with a mechanical problem.