Mercedes response as Antonelli tops final practice ahead of Sepang qualifying

Red Bull remained in the fight. Verstappen had topped FP1 and opted against a soft-tyre qualifying simulation in FP2, but his FP3 lap on the soft compound put him second, despite the session being interrupted by a red flag.

Isack Hadjar completed the top three, 0.558s off Antonelli, underlining the speed in the Red Bull camp. Hadjar, however, will carry a five-place grid penalty into qualifying, leaving greater emphasis on Verstappen to convert the team’s pace into a headline result.

The stoppage came after debris was reported at Turn 10, with Ollie Bearman’s Haas shedding part of its front-right brake shrouding. Running resumed with enough time for the leading teams to complete late soft-tyre laps, and the order placed Mercedes marginally ahead of Red Bull before qualifying.

Ferrari occupied fifth and sixth, Charles Leclerc leading Lewis Hamilton by just 0.025s. Leclerc had paced FP2 on Friday, but the pair were more than seven tenths slower than Antonelli in FP3.

Hamilton’s session also followed Friday’s mirror-related impeding incident involving Gabriel Bortoleto, for which Ferrari received a fine and Hamilton a warning. McLaren were seventh and eighth, Lando Norris ahead of Oscar Piastri, with both more than eight tenths from the benchmark.

Franco Colapinto delivered a notable ninth for Alpine, although his combined 15-place grid penalty means the headline position will not translate into a straightforward qualifying opportunity.

Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top 10, while Racing Bulls team-mate Liam Lawson was 15th. Gabriel Bortoleto was 11th for Audi, ahead of Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.

The session reinforced how quickly the competitive picture has shifted at F1’s first Sepang visit since 2017. Friday suggested a closely matched four-team contest, with hot, abrasive conditions driving significant tyre degradation.

FP3 put Antonelli and Mercedes on top at precisely the right moment, but Verstappen’s sustained pace and Hadjar’s competitiveness leave Red Bull as a major threat.

With Ferrari and McLaren close behind, the final practice result sets up a tightly contested qualifying session at the Bahrain GP in Malaysia.