Free Practice 3: Suzuka was ablaze—quite literally—during the final practice session ahead of the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, with grass fires, flying gravel, and a McLaren masterclass stealing the headlines in a chaotic and pace-packed FP3.
Early Action and a Familiar Disruption:
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was the first to light up the timing screens, setting the early benchmark with a 1:30.387 on the hard compound tyre. His former teammate Liam Lawson trailed by 1.119s on mediums, while local hero Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine Rookie Jack Doohan were next on the charts. Tsunoda, on hards, sat 1.233s off Verstappen, with Doohan pushing hard in his freshly repaired car—perhaps a little too hard—dipping two wheels into the gravel on his first flyer.
Then came déjà vu. A grass fire—the third of the weekend—brought out the red flags for an eight-minute halt, again interrupting Suzuka’s rhythm as fire crews doused the flames.
Ferrari Shows Their Hand, But McLaren Strikes Back:
When the session resumed with 45 minutes to go, Ferrari turned up the heat. Charles Leclerc dropped into the 1:29s on soft tyres, clocking a 1:29.107. Teammate Lewis Hamilton slotted in just 0.165s behind. Lawson briefly stole the spotlight, going third fastest on mediums—nearly two-tenths quicker than Verstappen’s early hard tyre effort.
McLaren then showed their cards. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris surged up the order, going second and third behind Leclerc, the papaya pair looking sharp all weekend. Still, on hards, Tsunoda split the pack to go fourth fastest, two-tenths ahead of Lawson, showcasing a serious one-lap pace.
Hamilton, not to be outdone, slotted back into P2—just a tenth off Leclerc—while Verstappen continued to wrestle with his RB21, stuck in P8 and nearly 1.3s off the front.
Then came a flurry of soft-tyre runs. Piastri hit the top with a 1:28.768, only for Leclerc to come within 0.015s of snatching it back. Norris wasn’t far behind either, 0.050s off his teammate. Tsunoda held firm in P5—the only driver in the top six on hard tyres.
Meanwhile, Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar impressed again, sliding into P7 on mediums, outpacing teammate Lawson by over three-tenths.
Verstappen’s position in P14 raised eyebrows, but Red Bull had him on a different run plan. He prioritized long stints, while Tsunoda focused on short, sharp flyers.
With 24 minutes to go, George Russell threw down the gauntlet with a searing 1:28.385, turning the session on its head. Norris soon ducked into the pits for what looked like floor repairs after a couple of wild off-track excursions and a gravelly encounter with Suzuka’s unforgiving saw-tooth curbs.
Tsunoda swapped to softs and climbed to fifth, just 0.400s behind Russell, before Verstappen finally joined the party. On softs, the reigning champion went P4—just a tenth up on Tsunoda and three-tenths off Russell.
Then, Piastri struck again. A sensational 1:27.991 lap reclaimed the top spot with 13 minutes left. Russell responded but fell just 0.086s short.
Closing Chaos and a Familiar Flame:
With 10 minutes left, Lawson bolted on the softs but could only manage P12—1.113s off the pace.
“I lost a lot of time on Turn 11,” he admitted over the team radio.
“I don’t know if I just pushed braking too much”, he added.
Earlier, Lawson also reported over the team radio about struggling with the rear of the car and with rotation on Turn 11.
Hadjar, meanwhile, continued to outshine expectations, finishing P9 and over three-tenths quicker than Lawson.
Norris wasn’t done yet. The Brit put in one final flyer to edge out Piastri by just 0.026s, setting a 1:27.965 and cementing a McLaren 1-2 at the top of the timesheets.
Then came the fourth grass fire of the weekend—yes, fourth—triggering a late red flag, ultimately ending the session with six minutes still on the clock.
Final FP3 Classification – Top 10:
- Lando Norris – 1:27.965
- Oscar Piastri – +0.026
- George Russell – +0.112
- Charles Leclerc – +0.449
- Max Verstappen – +0.532
- Lewis Hamilton – +0.559
- Alexander Albon – +0.589
- Pierre Gasly – +0.638
- Yuki Tsunoda – +0.820
- Isack Hadjar – +0.821
Lawson ended FP3 in P12, comfortably ahead of fellow rookies Antonelli, Doohan, Bearman, Bortoleto and seasoned campaigners Alonso, Ocon, Stroll, and Hülkenberg.
Looking Ahead:
With four grass fires, two McLarens up top, and Verstappen still searching for his rhythm, Suzuka has already delivered a wild ride—and we haven’t even hit qualifying yet. One thing’s for sure: this Japanese Grand Prix weekend is heating up in more ways than one.
Qualifying kicks off at 7 pm NZT tonight. The race is scheduled for 5 pm NZT tomorrow (Sunday)
Header Image: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
