Antonelli Tops Final Japan Practice, Outpaces Mercedes Teammate Russell
Kimi Antonelli finished the final practice at Suzuka fastest. He stopped the clock at 1m 29.362s and set the benchmark ahead of qualifying.
Antonelli tops the final practice in Japan and outpaced Mercedes team mate George Russell. Mercedes continued their strong start to the 2026 season.
Session summary
The one-hour FP3 was teams’ last chance to fine-tune setups before qualifying. Most drivers waited until about 15 minutes into the session to begin serious running.
Lewis Hamilton initially put down an early benchmark on Pirelli’s soft tyre. Charles Leclerc then improved to 1m 31.018s.
Lando Norris faced ongoing technical problems. His McLaren MCL40 stayed in the garage until there were 25 minutes left due to an ERS issue.
Key running and lap progression
Antonelli was the first to go below 1m 31s with a 1m 30.418s. He later became the first driver under 1m 30s, posting 1m 29.929s.
George Russell briefly lowered that marker by 0.011s. He then set a 1m 29.616s before Antonelli responded with the session-topping 1m 29.362s.
Traffic through 130R caused complaints from Nico Hülkenberg and Valtteri Bottas. Several drivers lost time in the final sector during late runs.
Top finishers and incidents
- 1st: Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) — 1m 29.362s
- 2nd: George Russell (Mercedes) — 0.3s behind
- 3rd: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) — more than 0.8s back
- 4th: Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- 5th: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 6th: Lando Norris (McLaren) — ~1.2s off the pace
- 7th: Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
- 8th: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 9th: Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
- 10th: Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar finished ahead of the two Racing Bulls driven by Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad. Esteban Ocon was ahead of Haas team mate Ollie Bearman.
Bearman suffered a large spin exiting Spoon Curve but rejoined without contact. Sergio Perez ended P20 after a brief gravel excursion at the final chicane.
Alex Albon was P16, just ahead of Williams team mate Carlos Sainz. Franco Colapinto and Valtteri Bottas followed further down the order.
The session finished with the Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso more than four seconds adrift. The timing sheet will be crucial going into qualifying later today.
