Verstappen leads Red Bull one-two as Leclerc misses chance to set time

Red Bull were quickest once again in the final practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix as Mercedes were the closest to the world champions.

In warmer conditions that the first day of practice, Mercedes were the nearest to the Red Bulls, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in third and fourth, while Ferrari could only manage seventh and tenth, for Carlos Sainz Jnr and Charles Leclerc respectively, after the latter missed his chance to set a time at the end of the session.

After Friday’s second practice session was rendered an effective non-event due to the conditions, teams took advantage of the final hour of running before practice to fit in the high-fuel long runs they otherwise would have completed in the session. In the later phase of the session, the focus turned to qualifying, with many drivers heading out on soft tyres to attempt push laps.

As the chequered flag flew, Verstappen’s qualifying simulation run left him quickest of all, while Perez was 0.269 slower than his team mate in second. The two Mercedes of Russell and Hamilton were third and fourth, both within half a second of Verstappen’s best.

Fernando Alonso was fifth for Aston Martin, with Lando Norris in sixth after abandoning his final push lap attempt after running wide at Degner 2. Sainz was seventh for Ferrari ahead of Oscar Piastri, Yuki Tsunoda in ninth and Leclerc completing the top ten.

The Ferrari driver was frustrated to discover he arrived at the start/finish line too late to begin his flying lap at the end of the session. During his out lap he told his team Sainz ahead of him needed to hurry up, but he missed his opportunity by less than a second. “I don’t get it,” he said on his radio afterwards. “What are we doing, to stay in the garage?

“Oh my God. We are in FP3, we have two laps, let’s be on it. Come on.”

After Logan Sargeant’s accident in the opening practice session, all 20 drivers successfully avoided the barriers over the course of the hour. However, there were a couple of offs. Kevin Magnussen was first go run wide, skidding off into the gravel at the hairpin early in the session before recovering back to the track. Daniel Ricciardo also ran off-track at the exit of the first corner when his RB snapped sideways.

Lando Norris spent a considerable amount of time in the garage undergoing work on his McLaren, completing the fewest laps of any driver in the field with 14. Sainz got the most laps in during the session with 27.

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2024 Japanese Grand Prix third practice result

2024 Japanese Grand Prix combined practice results

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2024 Japanese Grand Prix

• “Am I in a race here or what?”: How Ferrari aced their Suzuka strategies
• Suzuka showed Mercedes “have a more stable platform” now
• Ferrari’s strategy gains in 2024 are “purely down to the car” – Sainz
• Tsunoda ‘at Verstappen and Alonso’s level’ with Suzuka performance – Marko
• Japan was first race where Red Bull’s winning margin was bigger than last year