Round 4 of the Formula 1 season brings us to Suzuka, Japan, where the teams are gearing up for the Japanese Grand Prix. The weather is dry, slightly warmer than yesterday, and the track is ready for action as Free Practice 3 (FP3) gets underway.
The teams are facing a challenge due to the lack of long-run data caused by previous rain showers. Strategies and tire wear are somewhat of a mystery, especially considering the possibility of more rain throughout the weekend.
Max Verstappen leads the pack as the first car out on track, followed by his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, both on medium compound tires.
FP3 typically focuses on one-lap pace, with teams running the soft tires to fine-tune their setups for qualifying. However, some teams might use this session to gather data on other tire compounds.
Nico Hülkenberg started with a lock-up, while Kevin Magnussen spun but recovered slowly. Magnussen’s spin caused him to receive a white flag, indicating a slow return to the track.
At the 5-minute mark, multiple teams are on track, with Red Bull, Ferrari, and Haas opting for medium tires. However, Sauber stands out by sending their drivers out on soft tires, a compound they didn’t use in the previous sessions.
With 45 minutes to go, Lewis Hamilton sets the pace, followed closely by Verstappen and Perez. Daniel Ricciardo spins and causes a yellow flag, but he manages to return to the track.
It’s still too early to judge, but Mercedes looks better than expected, Ferrari is in the mix of who looks the fastest, McLaren should be up there, and Aston Martin has upgrades… While behind, RB F1 Team looks strong.
Haas didn’t expect this track to suit their car, Williams seem to be struggling with drivability, Sauber still has pit stop worries to contend with and Alpine is the dark horse at the moment.
With Almost half an hour to go, the top 2 remains the same and Lando Norris moves up to p3, just +0.134 behind the Mercedes driver.
Hamilton’s earlier time remains top, but things aren’t going so well for his teammate. Russell’s car is up on the stands as the team works on the floor area of his car. He’s completed 17 laps on the mediums and is planning to come out for some low-fuel laps later on.
Into the final quarter of an hour, and Albon was the first to bolt on the softs and come back out. Sargeant followed suit, and spare a thought for him – his crash yesterday was on his first push lap on the softs. Will he really be willing to push it right to the edge today?
Albon, jumped up to sixth. He improved as the lap wore on – losing all his time to Hamilton’s marker in the first sector. Either he saved some tires for the end of the lap, or his tires weren’t quite fully up to temperature.
In the last 10 minutes, the session heated up as teams switched to soft tires for their final runs. Russell had a tidy-looking lap and went top with a 1m 29.918s, a tenth and a half up on his teammate.
Purple sectors were coming in and right now Verstappen and Norris were right on the money.
It’s P1 for Verstappen by three and a half tenths. Norris was quickest in the opening sector, but he aborted in the second (replays come in, Norris ran wide and took too much curb through the Degners). Hamilton improved but stayed behind Russell, as Perez went second.
5 minutes to go and both Ferrari drivers went for their first flying laps of the session… and, they either were not showing their full hands, or something else was going on. Sainz was seventh, Leclerc P10, and for a car that looked as planted as theirs does… Surely Ferrari was running heavy and sandbagging out there?
One minute to go and Everyone has set a soft-shod time, although a couple aren’t representative – Stroll for example didn’t complete his lap due to traffic. He sits P18, followed by Sergeant and Magnussen.
That’s the checkered flag waving, and the Dutchman is back on top, winding up 0.269s ahead of his teammate. It’s all going Red Bull’s way at the moment, with Perez in P2 and a surprise with George Russell’s Mercedes in P3.
With Red Bull looking strong, and Mercedes and Ferrari in the mix, qualifying promises to be a thrilling battle. Keep an eye on Tsunoda, who is performing well, and the midfield teams, who could spring surprises. Qualifying is scheduled to start at 15:00 local time in Japan.