Japanese GP – FP3: Mercedes dominates, Norris struggles with his car

Kimi Antonelli reigns supreme at Suzuka before qualifying. The Italian set the fastest time of 1 minute 29.362 seconds, 0.254 seconds ahead of Russell. Midway through the session, Antonelli became the first rider of the weekend to break the 1 minute 30 second barrier, before setting the benchmark time in the final 20 minutes. The two Mercedes Benz left their pursuers more than eight-tenths of a second behind, Classic Ferrari for sale being the best of the others with Charles Leclerc in third position at +0.867s.McLaren hampered by technical problems. The great shadow of the day is named after Lando Norris.

The reigning world champion had to wait until the final 25 minutes of the session due to an Energy Recovery System (ERS) issue that had already disrupted his Friday. As a result, he completed only 13 laps and finished sixth, 1.238s behind Antonelli. His teammate Oscar piastriHe, however, was able to work normally to finish fourth at +1.002s.

Lewis Hamilton completed the top 5 in fifth position while driving for Ferrari. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) set the seventh fastest time, ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) by a narrow margin. Gabriel Bortoleto completed the Audi one-two finish in ninth, while Pierre Gasly (Alpine) closes the top 10. Further down the standings, Ollie Bearman had a big scare coming out of Spoon Curve, spinning out before rejoining the track undamaged. Valtteri Bottas et Sergio Perez finished the session in 19th and 20th places for Cadillac, with Perez briefly leaving the track without injury. Fernando Alonso et Lance stroll brought up the rear for Aston Martin, more than four seconds off the best time.

Join us from 7 a.m. to follow the qualifying rounds.

F1 – Japanese Grand Prix 
The ranking of Free Practice 3