Kimi Antonelli led the final practice session of the weekend at the 2026 F1 Japanese GP, with George Russell and Charles Leclerc rounding out the top three at FP3.
Formula 1 headed into the final practice session at Suzuka, with teams preparing for one last hour of running ahead of qualifying for the 2026 Japanese GP.
Friday’s sessions began to shape the competitive picture, as Russell set the pace in FP1, while Oscar Piastri went quickest in FP2 later in the day. Despite those headline times, the margins across the field remained tight, and no clear favourite emerged.
Ahead of FP3 at the 2026 F1 Japanese, McLaren identified an issue with the ERS on Lando Norris’ car. As the engineers worked on his car, it was unclear if Norris could go out and set a time in FP3. With 24 minutes left on the clock, the current world champion went out on track in Suzuka to gain some data ahead of qualifying later in the day.
Teams worked overnight to refine their set-ups and address balance issues, and they approached FP3 as the final opportunity to put everything together before qualifying. Teams focused on short runs and qualifying simulations, using the soft tyre to extract maximum performance.
2026 F1 Japanese GP | FP3 results
- Kimi Antonelli 1:29.362
- George Russell 1:29.616
- Charles Leclerc 1:30.229
- Oscar Piastri 1:30.364
- Lewis Hamilton 1:30.383
- Lando Norris 1:30.600
- Nico Hülkenberg 1:30.658
- Max Verstappen 1:30.910
- Gabriel Bortoleto 1:31.000
- Pierre Gasly 1:31.082
- Isack Hadjar 1:31.094
- Liam Lawson 1:31.097
- Arvid Lindblad 1:31.288
- Esteban Ocon 1:31.326
- Ollie Bearman 1:31.558
- Alex Albon 1:31.733
- Franco Colapinto 1:31.759
- Carlos Sainz 1:31.829
- Valtteri Bottas 1:32.503
- Sergio Pérez 1:32.540
- Lance Stroll 1:33.485
- Fernando Alonso 1:33.529
