Kimi Antonelli set the pace in the final practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix, leading George Russell and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to put Mercedes in the strongest position ahead of Qualifying.
As the times tumbled drastically throughout the hour, the Italian driver posted the fastest lap of the weekend so far with a 1m 29.362s, putting him 0.254s clear of his team mate while Leclerc ended up eight-tenths adrift of the benchmark.
Oscar Piastri found himself comfortably in the top four, but his McLaren team mate Lando Norris missed a significant chunk of the session due to an ERS (Engine Recovery System) issue, putting him on the back foot in terms of mileage despite placing P6.
Elsewhere, it was an impressive showing for Audi with Nico Hulkenberg finishing seventh and Gabriel Bortoleto a few tenths further back in ninth, giving them some useful momentum for Qualifying which gets underway at 1500 local time.
Haas’ Ollie Bearman had a big moment coming out of Turn 14, saving a spin after running a touch wide out of Spoon.
Click go on the video player above to catch up with the action from FP3 at the Suzuka Circuit.