Kimi Antonelli carried the momentum from his maiden F1 victory in China into Practice Three at Suzuka, setting the fastest time and edging team‑mate George Russell to lead Mercedes into Qualifying contention.
Antonelli posted a 1:29.362, 0.254s quicker than Russell, confirming Mercedes as the benchmark after McLaren’s Friday pace. Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok suggested the session pointed to “an intra‑Mercedes battle for pole,” with Antonelli looking particularly strong heading into the shootout.
Mercedes’ advantage under the new regulations has been clear this season — both poles and wins so far — and that superiority was evident at Suzuka. Charles Leclerc recovered from a difficult Friday to put Ferrari third, but he remained 0.867s off Antonelli, with the rest of the field at least a second behind.
Oscar Piastri fell to fourth, while Lewis Hamilton was fifth in the other Ferrari. Lando Norris endured further frustration: McLaren had to fit a replacement ERS battery pack after ongoing reliability problems with the Mercedes power unit. A hydraulics leak had already limited his running on Friday; although a rapid ERS swap got Norris back on track for the final 26 minutes, he completed just 13 laps and finished sixth, about 0.2s behind Piastri.
The bigger implication for Norris is technical: he has now used three energy stores in as many weekends this season, and an additional unit would trigger an automatic grid penalty.
Audi showed encouraging pace, with Nico Hülkenberg seventh and junior Gabriel Bortoleto ninth, both running close to the leading quad. Red Bull struggled: Max Verstappen was eighth, 1.5s off the pace, reporting gear‑shift troubles, while team‑mate Isack Hadjar was down in 11th, leaving Red Bull fighting for Q3 places. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly split the two RB drivers in tenth.
Haas’ Oliver Bearman provided the session’s only notable on‑track incident, half‑spinning through Spoon Curve; he ended 15th, just behind team‑mate Esteban Ocon. New entrant Cadillac put both cars ahead of Aston Martin, which again found itself near the back, roughly four seconds off the leaders.
Practice Three times (top 22):
1) Kimi Antonelli — Mercedes — 1:29.362
2) George Russell — Mercedes — +0.254
3) Charles Leclerc — Ferrari — +0.867
4) Oscar Piastri — McLaren — +1.002
5) Lewis Hamilton — Ferrari — +1.021
6) Lando Norris — McLaren — +1.238
7) Nico Hülkenberg — Audi — +1.296
8) Max Verstappen — Red Bull — +1.548
9) Gabriel Bortoleto — Audi — +1.638
10) Pierre Gasly — Alpine — +1.720
11) Isack Hadjar — Red Bull — +1.732
12) Liam Lawson — Racing Bulls — +1.735
13) Arvid Lindblad — Racing Bulls — +1.926
14) Esteban Ocon — Haas — +1.964
15) Oliver Bearman — Haas — +2.196
16) Alex Albon — Williams — +2.371
17) Franco Colapinto — Alpine — +2.397
18) Carlos Sainz — Williams — +2.467
19) Valtteri Bottas — Cadillac — +3.141
20) Sergio Perez — Cadillac — +3.178
21) Lance Stroll — Aston Martin — +4.123
22) Fernando Alonso — Aston Martin — +4.167
Qualifying build‑up and Qualifying follow on Saturday, with full Grand Prix coverage on Sunday as Formula 1 continues at the iconic Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix.