Mercedes struck back ominously on Saturday morning at the Japanese Grand Prix, with Kimi Antonelli and George Russell dominating finap practice at Suzuka.
Oscar Piastri had set the pace on Friday, but fell to fourth and over a second behind Antonelli in the final hour of practice. The Mercedes pair constantly lowered the benchmark time, and were the only two drivers to dip below the 90-second margin.
Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton in fifth.
Lando Norris was immediately on the pace after sitting out over half of the session while McLaren raced to fix an ERS problem. This came after a similar issue struck in China, causing both cars to be unable to take the start of the race.
Audi enjoyed an eye-catching performance, with Nico Hulkenberg leading the midfield runners in seventh. His pace was backed up by team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto in ninth. Max Verstappen separated the pair, but was audibly frustrated by a lack of pace from his Red Bull.
Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10.
It was another dreadful day for Aston Martin. Although both cars enjoyed smooth running throughout, neither Lance Stroll nor Fernando Alonso were able to remotely challenge any of the other 20 cars, with both ending the session at the foot of the time sheets, and nearly a second off the pace of Sergio Perez, in the slower of the two Cadillacs.
| 2026 F1 Japanese GP – Practice Results (3) | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m29.362s | 18 |
| 2 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m29.616s | 18 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m30.229s | 20 |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team | 1m30.364s | 19 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m30.383s | 23 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team | 1m30.600s | 13 |
| 7 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 1m30.358s | 21 |
| 8 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m30.910s | 22 |
| 9 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 1m31.000s | 21 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m31.082s | 20 |
| 11 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m31.094s | 21 |
| 12 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m31.097s | 21 |
| 13 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m31.288s | 17 |
| 14 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | TGR Haas F1 Team | 1m31.326s | 22 |
| 15 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | TGR Haas F1 Team | 1m31.558s | 18 |
| 16 | Alex Albon | THA | Atlassian Williams F1 Team | 1m31.733s | 20 |
| 17 | Franco Colapinto | ARG | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m31.759s | 25 |
| 18 | Carlos Sainz | SPA | Atlassian Williams F1 Team | 1m31.829s | 26 |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Cadillac F1 Team | 1m32.503s | 20 |
| 20 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Cadillac F1 Team | 1m32.540s | 18 |
| 21 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m33.485s | 19 |
| 22 | Fernando Alonso | SPA | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m33.529s | 14 |
