Japanese Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Norris and McLaren lead the way ahead of qualifying

It was necessary to be an early riser to follow this third and final practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix, at 4:30 AM French time. The last opportunity to adjust the cars before the qualifying session scheduled at 8:30. Once again, the McLarens recorded the two best times. The two Ferraris, George Russell, and Max Verstappen are in close pursuit.

Seven minutes in and already in the garage. Like yesterday during Free Practice 2, the grass catches fire at the trackside and causes an early red flag in this FP3 session. After a chaotic Friday, interrupted several times, teams don’t have much room to maneuver for long runs. The interruption doesn’t last long: a few minutes later, the track is green again. But six minutes before the end of the session, another fire starts as Gabriel Bortoleto goes through the grass at the entrance of the 130R. The session ends with a red flag. A comical situation in practice that could become very problematic in qualifying and the race.

Russell a tenth behind McLaren

On the track, Ferrari is fast again. Midway through the session, the two McLarens and the two Italian cars occupy the top four positions. Charles Leclerc slots between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, just 15 thousandths of a second behind the Australian. The SF-25 is very comfortable in the first sector, especially in the Senna S curves. Sectors 2 and 3 give the advantage to McLaren, allowing them to widen the gap enough to stay a notch above the competition.

The only one really rivaling McLaren is George Russell. The Briton sets the best provisional lap 20 minutes before the end of FP3. He seems best equipped along with the Ferraris to compete for the second row in the Grand Prix qualifying, behind the McLarens. Lando Norris, although ahead in the first sector, makes a mistake in the first Degner and aborts his attempt for the second time when he was on a reference lap 15 minutes from the end. He goes too wide and dips into the gravel trap, but he is indeed the fastest at Suzuka. Before qualifying, he clearly seems to be the favorite.

Hadjar back in the game

Isack Hadjar, very comfortable on Friday during his first laps in F1 at Suzuka, complained early on about a significant problem in his cockpit. He prefers to keep the nature of his issue a secret, likely to avoid a potential penalty. His minor complication does not prevent him from being on pace once again. He finishes the session in the top 10.

On the Alpine side, Jack Doohan, who had a violent crash in FP2 on Friday, is back for the final practices at Suzuka. He sets off at the beginning of the session to make up for lost time in adjusting his car. Without being extremely fast, the Australian reassures himself but remains far from his teammate.

Precisely, Pierre Gasly is comfortable on this Japanese track. 20 minutes before the end of the session, he is provisionally 7th and the fastest of the drivers on medium tires. Staying with the French side, Esteban Ocon is having more difficulty. He sets the 18th fastest time of this session.

The classification of free practice 3:

More information to follow…