Max Verstappen demonstrated his status as the frontrunner for pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix in a dominant display during FP3. He topped the timesheets, with his teammate Sergio Perez closely following in second place, reaffirming Red Bull’s dominance.
Verstappen initially trailed behind Lewis Hamilton, who was on softer Pirelli tires. However, once Verstappen switched to the softs, he quickly overtook Hamilton and set a blistering lap time of 1m29.563s. Perez also impressed, securing second place just moments later.
Despite their strong performance, both Red Bull drivers faced some issues during the session, including ride problems and wing mirror troubles.
Mercedes continued to show promise, with George Russell securing the third-fastest time, closely followed by Hamilton in fourth. Russell’s performance improved significantly during the qualifying simulations, outpacing his teammate.
Mercedes focused on optimizing tire preparation and balancing temperatures on the front and rear axle, indicating genuine progress. However, there remains a concern that their performance may decline during qualifying.
Fernando Alonso achieved fifth place after his Aston Martin team worked overnight to upgrade his car. McLaren’s Lando Norris secured sixth place, overcoming a mistake on his first flying lap. His teammate, Oscar Piastri, followed closely behind.
Ferrari failed to meet expectations, with Carlos Sainz in seventh place and Charles Leclerc in tenth. Ferrari completed their qualifying simulations later than their rivals, leading to complaints from Leclerc about timing.
Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull was the standout performer among the top five teams, finishing ninth. He outpaced his teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who had a spin early in the session. Alex Albon, despite his initial lack of confidence in the car, achieved eleventh place. Logan Sargeant, with a modified aerodynamic package due to a previous crash, finished nineteenth.
Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas secured twelfth place, while Esteban Ocon was the highest-placed Alpine driver in fourteenth. Haas had a disappointing session, with Nico Hulkenberg finishing sixteenth and Kevin Magnussen experiencing an early trip into the gravel, ultimately finishing last.