Japanese Grand Prix FP3: Kimi Antonelli from George Russell, Ferrari ahead of McLaren
F1 NewsSaturday, 28 March 2026 at 04:30
Mercedes head into qualifying for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix in control as Kimi Antonelli topped the final practice session with teammate George Russell chasing him.
After some promise on Friday for McLaren with Oscar Piastri leading the timing screens, Ferrari edged back ahead and took their usual position behind Mercedes who appeared to have turned the wick up pulling out quite the gap.
Antonelli ended the session fastest with a lap time of 1:29.362, two and half tenths faster than Russell in second.
But then came the gap, 0.867s to be precise, to Charles Leclerc who was third fastest in the Ferrari ahead of Piastri in the McLaren who was fourth.
Seven-time Formula 1 Champion Lewis Hamilton was fifth fastest in the Ferrari a tad over one second off the pace with Lando Norris sixth.
The reigning F1 Champion missed out on more than half the session due to an ERS issue, but McLaren did a decent job to get him out on track and give him the chance to run a bit.
Nico Hulkenberg was seventh fastest in the Audi ahead of Max Verstappen who continued to struggle and was a massive 1.548s off the pace in eighth.
Gabriel Bortoleto concluded a solid session for Audi, also making the top ten in ninth as Pierre Gasly was tenth for Alpine.
Buildup towards FP3
McLaren emerged on Friday as the fastest as Piastri topped the second practice session on Friday albeit with a very narrow margin ahead of Antonelli in the Mercedes.
If you are a McLaren fan, you should be warned from being too optimistic as Mercedes remain the team to beat. Nevertheless, it was encouraging Friday for the Papaya squad who replaced Ferrari as he best of the rest.
The Red Cars didn't seem to be going well around Suzuka so far with Hamilton claiming he didn't have any confidence in his Ferrari.
Red Bull Racing brought a raft of upgraded to their RB22 but as of Friday, they didn't seem to have solved any of its issue with Verstappen struggling.
The teams are getting used with the change in the rules with regards to energy deployment in qualifying while the resurfaced track means tyre understanding will be a task.
With the final practice upon us, we can now get an initial idea of what to expect as we head into qualifying day.
FP3 Session Highlights
The session started in clear dry conditions with the track temperature at 34 degrees Celsius as the air temperature was 15.
It was a slow start to the session somehow as drivers did not gather in the pitlane waiting for the green light as Franco Colapinto was the sole car out on track as several other drivers were not even in their cars.
🟢 FP3 GREEN LIGHT 🟢
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 28, 2026
Franco Colapinto is our first driver out on track #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/mrCcSjs5vA
Soon Perez, who missed out on FP2, joined Colapinto out on track as Gasly followed in the other Alpine.
Hamilton, both Haas Godzillas, Bottas, and Stroll soon joined the action.
It was bad news for Norris again. Following a tough Friday, reliability-wise, the Briton's McLaren MCL40 was hit with an ERS issue which meant it was on the stands as FP3 started.
Lando's mechanics are doing all they can to get his car ready 🤞#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/CgTtEvzWB4
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 28, 2026
Almost 15 minutes into FP3 and over half the grid was already out on track with the session gaining momentum.
While some drivers opted for Mediums, many went for Softs at the start of the session for some early qualifying runs.
Perez had a moment at the chicane, locking up and having to go straight with an excursion through the gravel.
Perez cuts the chicane, and the grass #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/AbV8JcNWgH
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 28, 2026
Verstappen told his engineer that he needed quite a lot of front end grip in the fast corners - six clicks to be precise.
Verstappen's latest lap was not a clean one. He is struggling with the car.
⏪ Rewind to Leclerc having a moment, or two! #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/kLfNRp7J69
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 28, 2026
Leclerc had a moment at Turn 11 but managed to hold it.
With less than 30 remaining, there was a glimmer of hope for Norris who appeared to be getting ready to get into his car.
Promising signs in the McLaren garage 👀
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 28, 2026
Lando's got his helmet on 👍#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/SxbNIq0uMj
The Briton eventually made it out on track with 24 minutes remaining and Soft tyres bolted to his MCL40. He was over 1.5s off the pace after his first attempt at a timed lap.
Then Bearman had a massive slid out of Spoon on the back straight and miraculously managed not to hit anything.
Russell was passing by and saw what went down hailing his rival for the "good save" he managed.
Here's a full look at Ollie Bearman's spin 🔄#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/v3TqREbgMF
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 28, 2026
Verstappen again was complaining over the radio about his downshifts labeling them as horrendous and when asked where, he said everywhere.
Lawson then had a moment at spoon while Leclerc had another wide moment while Alonso went deep at Degner 2 and aborted his lap.
The session was concluded with practice starts.
Japanese Grand Prix FP3 Classification
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