F1 Japanese Grand Prix 2026: Free Practice 3 Results With More McLaren Issues

After losing significant track time – albeit with the time on track showing pace – while the team worked through multiple problems, deeper issues tied to energy recovery and the ERS pack were identified overnight.

Effectively, Norris' McLaren is harvesting energy incorrectly. The discovery has forced McLaren to make changes that almost left him without the final practice before qualifying.

Largely Uneventful Free Practice 3

This is the final practice session before, as many of the teams have reminded us, the teams take time to work on the reliability and energy deployment of the cars in the unexpected one-month break before Miami.

With the 22 drivers putting in their qualifying practice laps, many of the results were as expected, with Mercedes and Ferrari on top, split by the pace that the McLarens have found despite their energy harvesting issues.

The finishing order for the top five was Mercedes' Antonelli and Russell, followed by the Ferrari of Leclerc, the McLaren of Piastri, and the Ferrari of Hamilton. Most notably, the gap between the top five was just over 1 second, with the largest pace difference being the Mercedes, as expected.

The true disappointment of the Free Practice sessions, though, is Red Bull Racing. The team brought a major update to their floor expecting a more significant pace after disappointing results to start the season from both Verstappen and Hadjar.

The pair finished FP3 in P8 and P11, respectively. This is miles below the benchmark that the team set for themselves earlier in the week. Verstappen complained of understeer "everywhere" throughout the session.

In a similar fashion to our other practice sessions in Japan, Cadillac's Perez and Bottas and Aston Martin's Alonso and Stroll took up the back of the pack. However, Aston Martin and Honda have announced that they finally have an answer to their vibration and pace issues, which can be addressed after Japan.

Audi's Bortoletto and Hulkenberg showed significant pace, finishing P7 and P9 respectively. This has been an interesting weekend for the team, having lost Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley earlier in the week. Even with a 'new team' and a leadership change, year-over-year progress has been significant.