Antonelli heads dominant Mercedes 1-2 in Japanese GP FP3

Antonelli’s 1m29.362s was enough to secure top spot by 0.254s from his teammate, with Charles Leclerc a distant third for Ferrari, nearly nine tenths off the benchmark pace.

After failing to top FP2 yesterday, Mercedes reasserted itself at the front once the session moved into soft-tyre qualifying simulations, with both drivers the first to dip below the 1m30 barrier this weekend.

The pair traded fastest laps throughout the middle phase before Antonelli delivered a decisive lap to seal top spot.

Leclerc briefly challenged during the initial soft-tyre runs, improving to a 1m30.229s, but remained comfortably adrift of the Mercedes duo.

His session was further compromised late on when he ran wide at Spoon, in a separate incident to Liam Lawson, who also went off at the same corner while taking avoiding action.

Behind the top three, Oscar Piastri continued McLaren’s consistent form across the weekend in fourth, although finishing just over a second off the pace. Lewis Hamilton followed in fifth for Ferrari, while Lando Norris recovered to sixth after limited running.

The reigning world champion spent much of the session in the garage as McLaren worked through an ERS issue, with the team suggesting earlier that his participation was “highly unlikely”.

However, he returned to the track in the closing stages to log a small number of laps and secure a place inside the top six.

Further down the order, Nico Hulkenberg impressed for Audi in seventh, while Max Verstappen endured another difficult session in eighth, ending 1.548s adrift of the benchmark as he continued to report balance concerns over team radio.

Gabriel Bortoleto placed ninth for Audi ahead of Pierre Gasly, who rounded out the top 10, with a sizeable 1.720s covering the leading group and underlining the advantage held by Mercedes.

There were a handful of incidents during the session, most notably for Oliver Bearman, who spun at the exit of Spoon and briefly triggered a yellow flag before recovering without damage. The recovery drew praise from an approaching Russell, who said: “that was a good save”.

Traffic again proved a factor, particularly in the closing minutes as the circuit became increasingly busy, limiting opportunities for improvement across the field.

Cars return to the track for qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix at 3pm local time (5pm AEDT).

Results: Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, Free Practice 3