Verstappen fastest in FP3 as Mercedes follow Red Bull closely in Japan

It was a busy morning for every team this Saturday at the Suzuka Circuit, as FP2 was washed away the day before and the drivers’ had to make up for the hour they had lost out on. Everyone chose to begin the session on the mediums, except for Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

The Briton as a result quickly grabbed the lead, and spent the first minutes of FP3 there ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. The Mercedes driver could also remain in P1 during the middle phase of the session when teams opted to test their long runs.

Teams begin to test their qualifying runs during the final 10 minutes of the session. Max Verstappen proved to be the quickest ahead of Sergio Perez. The two Mercedes kept their good form and finished third and fourth respectively.

Surprisingly so, the two Ferraris were not at the front of the pack. Carlos Sainz finished seventh, while Charles Leclerc ended Saturday morning in P10. The Monegasque driver was not happy with Ferrari's plans for this morning in Japan, and let his frustration known over the team radio after the chequered flag.

Incidents in FP3

It was Kevin Magnussen who first made a trip to the gravel trap this morning in Japan. The Dane’s breaks still seemed to be cold, and he did a half-spin in Turn 11, but his car was not damaged.

Daniel Ricciardo also spun exiting Turn 2. It is the first session where he could drive his car properly after Ayumu Iwasa replaced him in FP1 and rain washed away FP2, and the Australian lost control over the rear of his car early on during his lap on a set of soft tyres.

Another tricky spot for the drivers where Turn 9, where Piastri, Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg among others did some ‘drifting’. Verstappen also had some issues with his right-sided mirror, something he impressively tried to fix himself on the back straight at a high speed. Later, Sergio Perez also reported that he also had issues with his mirror.