Max Verstappen topped the final practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
Saturday practice was unusually busy, with most teams eager to make up for lost time from the rain-affected Friday afternoon session that left them down on setup data.
Verstappen was among the gaggle of cars first out on track when pit lane opened, ensuring he had enough time for some early flying laps, a long run on the medium tire and a final qualifying simulation at the end of the hour.
Equipped with a fresh set of soft tires, the Dutchman set the benchmark at 1m 29.563, the fastest time of the weekend and only 0.6s slower than his pole time from last year.
Perez had little troubled backing him up, the Mexican securing second on the time sheet 0.269s off his teammate’s pace.
It wasn’t a perfect session for Red Bull, however. Both drivers complained of major ride issues, particularly through the slow corners, and Verstappen battling understeer on his long run.
Both cars also appeared to be suffering from the unusual problem of vibrating and loose wing mirrors.
Mercedes’ Friday optimism persisted into Saturday morning, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton lapping 0.355s and 0.474s respectively behind Verstappen and sitting at the head of the chasing pack, their weakness in high-speed corners looking much improved compared to the opening rounds of the season.
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Fernando Alonso’s mechanics broke curfew overnight to equip his car with the team’s latest upgrades, bringing him to parity with teammate Lance Stroll. The new parts took the Spaniard to 0.519s off the pace.
Lando Norris was an understated sixth for McLaren. The Briton set the best first sector of any driver on his first flying lap, but a snap of oversteer sent him wide over the curbs at the second Degner, spoiling the time. He couldn’t recapture the time with his second attempt, leaving him 0.574 adrift.
Carlos Sainz flew under the radar to seventh and 0.034s behind Norris, with the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri following 0.055s further back.
Yuki Tsunoda was ninth for RB ahead of Charles Leclerc, who was vociferously critical of Ferrari’s handling of its run plan late in the session during the qualifying simulations that appear to have deprived him of a final flying lap, leaving him 10th and more than 0.2s behind his teammate.
Alex Albon complained of “zero confidence in the car” early in the session, which he ended in 11th and 0.97s off the pace and fractionally ahead of Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas.
Daniel Ricciardo completed 24 laps during his first meaningful session of the weekend, having lost FP1 to reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa and most of FP2 to greasy conditions.
One of those laps saw the Australian spin off the road after losing his car in the middle of Turn 2, with the RB’s rear axle looking loose all session.
Esteban Ocon was 14th for Alpine ahead of Zhou Guanyu, Nico Hulkenberg and teammate Pierre Gasly, who was equipped with a new power unit for Saturday.
Lance Stroll was 18th ahead of Logan Sargeant in his repaired Williams and Kevin Magnussen, who looked down on confidence in the car after spinning off the road at the hairpin in the first four minutes of the session.
