Under a clear sky at the Suzuka Circuit, Kimi Antonelli cut through the autumn air to set the pace in Free Practice 3 — a lap of 1m 29. 362s that left the paddock buzzing about the japan gp and what these final practice laps might foreshadow for Qualifying. The session was the last hour for teams to tune setups and settle nerves before the line-up is decided.
What FP3 at Japan Gp revealed
Antonelli finished fastest in FP3, beating his Mercedes team mate George Russell by nearly three tenths; Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari was the next best, more than eight tenths off the benchmark. Antonelli had become the first driver this weekend to dip below the 1m 30s barrier and then improved further to post the session‑leading 1m 29. 362s. Russell had set competitive times throughout the hour and at one point edged within 0. 011s of Antonelli’s best, underscoring Mercedes’ strong start to the weekend.
Behind the Mercedes duo, Leclerc remained the best of the rest at the chequered flag, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri fourth and Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris completing the top six. The session filled out with Nico Hulkenberg (Audi), Max Verstappen (Red Bull), Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) rounding out the top ten.
Voices from the garage: speed, frustration and an investigation
Speed on track sat alongside friction off it. Oscar Piastri, who had been fastest in Friday’s second practice, was placed under investigation for weaving down the back straight and through 130R; Nico Hulkenberg felt forced to take avoiding action. The stewards will review both drivers after the session, a formal step that teams must now factor into their preparations.
Max Verstappen did not hide his displeasure. Max Verstappen, Red Bull’s four‑time world champion, told his team over the radio that his car was “horrendous, ” a terse assessment that reflected a difficult outing for the Dutch driver, who was 1. 548s down on Antonelli’s time in the session.
McLaren’s Lando Norris endured a further setback: his MCL40 remained in the garage until there were just 25 minutes left on the clock because of an ERS problem, leaving the reigning World Champion Lando Norris with minimal running and a sixth‑place time that drew clear attention from his team.
How teams and leaders are framing the aftermath
Teams treated FP3 as a final, concentrated window for data collection and setup work ahead of Qualifying later in the day. Mercedes’ one‑two in the hour and Antonelli’s clear benchmark handed the team confidence, while the position of Ferrari and McLaren in the order offered both challenge and opportunity. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes driver, framed the weekend in tactical terms, pinpointing what he saw as Ferrari’s best hope of beating McLaren in Japan — a perspective that highlights how driver experience feeds into tactical planning even before the qualifiers begin.
Official responses to incidents were already in motion: the stewards’ decision to see drivers involved in the weaving incident is a formal channel for addressing on‑track safety concerns, and teams with mechanical gremlins — most notably McLaren with its ERS issue — must balance repairs with the limited track time remaining.
Back at Suzuka: a circuit still telling its story
The final hour of practice left a portrait of a weekend still very much in play. Kimi Antonelli’s 1m 29. 362s lap set a clear benchmark; George Russell pushed close and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc remained in the mix, but questions lingered about traffic, incidents and car balance. The japan gp session closed the practice phase with momentum for Mercedes, a technical puzzle for McLaren, and an inquiry that could reshape starting positions for some drivers.
As teams packed data and prepared overnight, the Suzuka paddock hummed with the dual energies of confidence and caution. The opening scene — Antonelli’s clean, fast lap cutting through the circuit — now hangs in the air with new weight: it is both a statement of speed and the prompt for rival teams to respond when Qualifying begins later today at Suzuka Circuit (ET).
