Lando Norris pipped Oscar Piastri to P1 in third practice for the Japanese GP, a session that saw two red flags due to grass fires.

Norris clocked a 1:27.965 to finish 0.026s ahead of his team-mate, with George Russell a tenth behind in third place.

Another practice P1 for Lando Norris and McLaren

Despite Friday’s red-flag disrupted second practice, only a handful of drivers ventured out as the light went green for FP3. Amongst those was Jack Doohan.

Behind the wheel of his repaired A525, the Alpine driver got the timesheet rolling with a 1:33 after running a bit wide under the bridge, kicking up dirt.

Isack Hadjar was back in the Racing Bulls garage after just two laps, reporting: “I had a problem in the cockpit, I’ll let you know after, but it’s quite bad.”

F1 2025 head-to-head stats

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Red flag! After four red flags in FP2, the first in third practice was waved seven minutes into the session for yet another grass fire, this time at Turn 12. As the fire marshals dealt with that, Max Verstappen sat P1 with a 1:30.397 with only eight drivers having set times.

The drivers queued in the pit lane for the restart, Lando Norris the first one out with Oscar Piastri and Verstappen both noted for failing to follow race director’s instructions. “McLaren jumped the queue,” reported Lewis Hamilton.

Charles Leclerc went P1 on the soft Pirellis, a 1:29.107, ahead of the McLaren team-mates before Hamilton made it a Ferrari 1-2. McLaren replaced the Scuderia at the top, Piastri’s 1:28.768 was 0.05s up on Norris. Leclerc split the McLarens with Hamilton P4, the top four separated by 0.185s.

Carlos Sainz had an off-track moment as too did Esteban Ocon, the latter telling Haas: “Check the left side of the floor for stones.” Nico Hulkenberg, meanwhile, wasn’t happy with a “dodgy” way a Red Bull left the pit lane as he came through Turn 1 at pace.

Bolting on a new set of soft Pirelli tyres, Russell took over at the top with a 1:28.385, Leclerc and Hamilton slotting in behind him while the Red Bulls went fourth and sixth with Verstappen ahead of Yuki Tsunoda. And then came the McLarens…

Piastri went quickest with a 1:27.991 while Norris made a mistake at the second Degner. Getting it right, Norris hit the front with a 1:27.965 to finish FP3 0.026s up on Piastri. Russell was third, a tenth down.

The session saw a second late red flag for yet another grass fire. An off from Gabriel Bortoleto was the spark that ignited the fourth fire of the weekend.

Japanese GP: FP3 Lap Times

1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:27.965
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.026
3 George Russell Mercedes +0.112
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.449
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.532
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.559
7 Alexander Albon Williams +0.589
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.638
9 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing +0.820
10 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.821
11 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.881
12 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.139
13 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +1.161
14 Jack Doohan Alpine +1.802
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.807
16 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +2.119
17 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber +2.169
18 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team +2.218
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +2.302
20 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber +2.656

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