Japanese GP: Verstappen fastest in uninterrupted FP3

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen rounded out practice, ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, as the fastest driver out on track ahead of his teammate, Sergio Perez. 

Following the quiet hour that was FP2, yesterday, the final practice session was a blur of action as drivers and teams worked to gather their data which they missed in second practice.

Verstappen was the first driver to venture out onto the Japanese Suzuka Circuit. He was one of a handful of drivers who did not appear in the rain-affected FP2. 

Without any hindrance from the weather, and no red flags due to on-track crashes, the final hour of practice went uninterrupted. 

How the final hour finished…

Verstappen set the pace late on in FP3 and completed the final practice session as the fastest driver out on track with a 1m 29.563s, Perez followed closely behind. The Mercedes of George Russell rounded out the top three, in third, three-tenths behind. 

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was ‘best of the rest’ in P4, ahead of former teammate Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) who completed the top five.

The two McLaren’s occupied sixth and eighth with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri respectively, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was sandwiched in the middle in seventh. 

RB’s home hero, Yuki Tsunoda and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the top 10 in ninth and 10th. 

Williams’ Alexander Albon led the bottom 10 in 11th, nine-tenths behind Verstappen’s best time. He was joined alongside Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas in 12th. 

RB’s Daniel Ricciardo was the first driver to be one second off Verstappen’s pace, in 13th, 1.119s behind the benchmark time. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Kick Sauber’s Guanyu Zhou were 14th and 15th respectively. 

Nico Hulkenberg was the leading Haas driver in the bottom five, holding P16 by the end of practice whereas his teammate, Kevin Magnussen, was the slowest out on track down in 20th. 

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll were stuck in the middle of the two Haas’ in 17th and 18th. 

Williams’ Logan Sargeant made his first appearance in practice following his heavy FP1 crash which saw him miss out on FP2, and the American joined Gasly and Stroll in the Haas sandwich in 19th.  

Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix is next and is set to begin at 3pm local time (7am BST).

That’s all for the article; Japanese GP: Verstappen fastest in uninterrupted FP3 !

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Piastri fastest in rain-affected Japanese GP FP2
• Verstappen fastest as Sargeant crashes in Japanese GP FP1
• Ricciardo looking forward to Suzuka return
• McLaren to run ‘Driven by Change’ livery for Japanese GP
• Alonso slapped with drive-through after Australian GP
• Australian GP: Sainz secures victory after recovery as Verstappen retires

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.