Max Verstappen went the quickest in the final practice session in dry conditions. Verstappen hopes to finish the fight for the driver’s title at this week’s Japanese Grand Prix. A win and the fastest lap would be good enough for Verstappen to win his second title. Or he needs to outscore Leclerc by 8 points and Perez by 6 points.
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have remained closest to Verstappen today. Sainz finished the session at P2, 0.294s behind Max, and Leclerc was just behind him in P3. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez hasn’t been able to match the pace of Verstappen in the other Red Bull. He was 0.843s behind the fastest time set in FP3. Fernando Alonso is continuing his impressive run of form this weekend with Alpine. He managed to go ahead of Perez in the final practice session in P4.
The Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell got a reality check today. The silver arrows who lead in the second practice session on Friday couldn’t dominate the timing sheets today. Both car couldn’t match the pace of Red Bull or Ferrari in dry weather conditions. Russell finished ahead of Hamilton in P6. The Mercedes would be hoping it rains on Sunday as that weather suits their cars more on this track. Further down the grid, the Alpha Tauris has struggled to set decent lap times. Both Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda reported problems with the front brakes.
Qualifying is also expected to take place in dry conditions, and it would give Verstappen the best chance to fight for the pole. His only challenger would be the Ferraris, but it would take a mighty lap from Leclerc or Sainz to beat Verstappen.
FP3 Classification
| 1. Max Verstappen |
| 2. Carlos Sainz |
| 3. Charles Leclerc |
| 4. Fernando Alonso |
| 5. Sergio Perez |
| 6. George Russell |
| 7. Lewis Hamilton |
| 8. Lando Norris |
| 9. Estaban Ocon |
| 10. Lance Stroll |
| 11. Daniel Ricciardo |
| 12. Alex Albon |
| 13. Valtteri Bottas |
| 14. Sebastian Vettel |
| 15. Kevin Magnussen |
| 16. Mick Schumacher |
| 17. Yuki Tsuonda |
| 18. Zhou Guanyu |
| 19. Nicholas Latifi |
| 20. Pierre Gasly |
Salman Javaid
Having been a fan of Formula 1 since Mika Hakkinen drove for McLaren, Salman has turned his passion from watching the sport and commenting about all the events to sharing that experience with like-minded F1 fans. Still waiting for the McLaren team and drivers to win a title since 2008.
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