McLaren's Jenson Button set the pace as title rival Sebastian Vettel crashed out on his last lap in first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Button has to win in Suzuka and hope Red Bull's leader fails to score if he is to keep his title hopes alive.
Vettel was 0.456 seconds behind Button in third when he lost control and beached his car into the gravel.
Lewis Hamilton was second fastest with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso fourth ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber fifth.
Vettel's crash at the second Degner provided some late drama in an otherwise fairly sedate session at the challenging circuit.
Ted KravitzBBC F1 pit-lane reporterThe fact that the championship is already decided means the teams are taking an opportunity to work on 2012, which is fascinating
The defending champion added to the drama by running along the track rather than waiting to be picked up by the marshals.
"It was a classic mistake around Degner one," said BBC 5 live analyst Anthony Davidson. "But it was a mistake nonetheless.
"He lost the front end, felt the rear was a bit light, let the car run out wide and then he was on the gravel and paid the price."
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner gave a wry smile as he surveyed the incident from the pit wall.
Button finished runner-up to Vettel at the last race in Singapore and is now the only driver who has a mathematical chance of stopping the German from defending his Formula 1 crown.
To do that, the 2009 champion has to win each of the remaining five races and hope Vettel does not score a point.
Button has commented that mistakes are punished at Suzuka and realistically he will need Vettel to continue making errors this weekend.
"It's great going into this race, Sebastian thinking that I have a chance of winning the title," he had joked when he arrived in Japan. "He's probably the only person saying that's so!"
LAST FIVE JAPANESE GP WINNERS
- 2010 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull
- 2009 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull
- 2008 - Fernando Alonso - Renault
- 2007 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren
- 2006 - Fernando Alonso - Renault
Button has never won at Suzuka but he did enough to lead Friday practice by 0.091 seconds from Hamilton.
The 2008 champion was subdued when speaking to the media in Japan about his clash with Ferrari's Felipe Massa at the last race in Singapore.
But Hamilton was also determined to put the latest controversy behind him and did that with a solid first drive of the weekend.
Ferrari spent much of the morning tinkering with the floor of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari but he still managed to finish within 0.738secs of Button's leading mark and ahead of Webber.
Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari was sixth, and more than a second off the leading five drivers, with Ferrari's Felipe Massa seventh.
Scot Paul di Resta was 14th on his first run for Force India at Suzuka.
It had been a fairly uneventful start to the track action at the 3.6-mile circuit as the teams chose not to tinker too much with their car set-up as the track surface continued to evolve.
But BBC F1 pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz revealed: "Little bits still coming to both of some cars because so many teams are evaluating bits for next year.
"The fact that the championship is already decided means the teams are taking an opportunity to work on 2012, which is fascinating."
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