P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Verstappen pips McLaren F1 duo in Japan FP3
In the final practice session at Suzuka, Max Verstappen set the fastest lap time, beating both McLaren drivers. Verstappen initially led the field, but was later surpassed by Oscar Piastri and then Lando Norris. However, Verstappen reclaimed the top spot by a margin of 0.240 seconds. Sergio Perez finished fourth, nearly half a second behind the top three. Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had a larger deficit to Verstappen, with Leclerc trailing by 0.755 seconds and Sainz by 0.870 seconds. Lewis Hamilton showed improvement in his Mercedes but was still 0.892 seconds off the pace. The session saw a close battle between Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, with Alonso coming out on top. Kevin Magnussen had a small incident with Yuki Tsunoda, causing some tension between the two. Esteban Ocon was the fastest of the Alpines, finishing in 13th place. Pierre Gasly, who had a crash in FP2, ended up at the bottom of the leaderboard. Overall, Verstappen dominated all three practice sessions at Suzuka.
Source: motorsport
