FP3 of the 2025 Japanese GP began in Suzuka following a chaotic FP2 filled with red flags, full report and results below. Broadcasters opened coverage with a spotlight on Jack Doohan, who had suffered a heavy crash during FP2. Despite the severity of the incident, Alpine managed to completely rebuild his car, allowing the rookie to take part in FP3.
Early Red Flag: Grass Fire Strikes Again
Just seven minutes into the session, a red flag halted proceedings due to a grass fire near the circuit—an eerie repeat of two identical incidents during FP2. The parched grass and sparks from the cars caused all three fires. After an 8-minute delay, the session resumed with 46 minutes on the clock.
By then, only Verstappen, Antonelli, Sainz, Lawson, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, and Doohan had managed to set lap times. Drivers rushed back out on a variety of tire compounds—soft, medium, and hard—eager to maximize track time.
Meanwhile, Race Control handed Oscar Piastri a reprimand for failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions during a practice start in the pit lane. He now faces further investigation after the session.
McLaren and Leclerc Top Mid-Session Times
Eighteen minutes into the session, Verstappen led on the white-banded hard tire. But McLaren and Leclerc quickly surpassed him on softs, with the Monegasque driver taking P1, closely followed by Lewis Hamilton.
Tsunoda and Lawson held P5 and P6, respectively, with Tsunoda running the hard tire and Lawson on mediums. Piastri then snatched the top spot with a 1:28.768s lap on softs.
Halfway into the session, Piastri led the timesheets, followed by Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton, and Tsunoda—who remained the only driver in the top five on hard tires.
The rest of the order at that stage was: Russell, Hadjar, Alonso, Bearman, Gasly, Albon, Ocon, Lawson, Doohan, Verstappen, Stroll, Sainz, Hulkenberg, Antonelli, and Bortoleto.
George Russell shook up the leaderboard with 25 minutes remaining, going 0.383s quicker than Leclerc and Hamilton.
Quali Sim Runs Shake Up the Order
With 15 minutes left, teams fitted new softs for qualifying simulations. Tsunoda posted the first flying lap, falling 0.400s short of Russell’s time. Verstappen then edged past his teammate by a tenth.
Piastri stole the spotlight once again with a blazing 1:27.991 lap. Gasly and Albon impressed, slotting into P5 and P6 ahead of both Red Bulls. Russell tried to reclaim P1 but lost the rear slightly through the final chicane, settling for P2—just 0.086s behind Piastri.
Second Red Flag Ends Session Early
With six minutes to go, a second red flag cut the session short due to another grass fire—the fourth of the weekend. The session did not resume.
As a result, Lando Norris ended FP3 as the fastest driver, making it his second session-topping performance of the weekend and the third for McLaren in Suzuka.
Full results for FP3 at the Japanese GP:
