After McLaren managed to stay close to Mercedes on single-lap pace on Friday, Mercedes flexed its muscles again in FP3 at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Kimi Antonelli set the quickest time in FP3 with a 1:29.3, finishing around two and a half tenths ahead of his teammate,
George Russell.
Charles Leclerc completed the top three. His gap to Antonelli was more than eight tenths. Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton followed in fourth and fifth place with a gap just outside of a second.
After the team once again identified an issue with the ERS pack, Lando Norris had limited time on track in this session as well. The defending world champion set the sixth quickest time.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen finished in eighth place, also behind Nico Hulkenberg's Audi. The Dutchman's gap to Antonelli was 1.5 seconds.
Make GPblog your preferred source on Google and see our content first in Google Discover and Google News. Full Results | FP3 of the 2026 Japan Grand Prix
Japanese Grand Prix Results
Practice 1
Practice 2
Practice 3
ALL
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
|---|
| | MercedesMER | - | 1:29.362 |
| | MercedesMER | - | 1:29.616 |
| | FerrariFER | - | 1:30.229 |
| | McLarenMCL | - | 1:30.364 |
| | FerrariFER | - | 1:30.383 |
| | McLarenMCL | - | 1:30.600 |
| | AudiAUD | - | 1:30.658 |
| | Red Bull RacingRBR | - | 1:30.910 |
| | AudiAUD | - | 1:31.000 |
| | Red Bull RacingRBR | - | 1:31.094 |
| | AlpineALP | - | 1:31.125 |
| | Racing BullsRCB | - | 1:31.288 |
| | HaasHAA | - | 1:31.326 |
| | Racing BullsRCB | - | 1:31.380 |
| | HaasHAA | - | 1:31.558 |
| | WilliamsWIL | - | 1:31.733 |
| | WilliamsWIL | - | 1:31.829 |
| | AlpineALP | - | 1:31.854 |
| | CadillacCAD | - | 1:32.503 |
| | CadillacCAD | - | 1:32.540 |
| | Aston MartinAST | - | 1:33.485 |
| | Aston MartinAST | - | 1:33.529 |
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