Kimi Antonelli dominates FP3 at 2026 Japanese Grand Prix with record lap
Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheets in FP3 at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, setting a blistering 1:29.362. The session saw mixed fortunes for top teams, with McLaren battling reliability issues and Aston Martin grappling with power unit vibrations.
Antonelli's lap put him nearly a second clear of the competition, with Mercedes driver George Russell finishing second, 0.25 seconds adrift. Charles Leclerc secured third, though his time lagged over eight tenths behind the leader.
Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton followed in fourth and fifth, while Lando Norris managed sixth despite losing valuable track time. A recurring ERS system fault had already cost him 23 minutes in FP2 due to a hydraulic leak. McLaren's struggles extended beyond reliability, with the team admitting grip deficits in high-speed corners and ongoing work to optimise their Mercedes power unit setup. Further down the order, Max Verstappen posted an uncharacteristically slow time, finishing eighth—1.5 seconds off Antonelli's pace. Even Nico Hülkenberg's Audi outpaced the reigning champion, with the German taking seventh. Off-track, teams introduced key upgrades. Cadillac debuted a new diffuser at Suzuka, tailored for high-downforce conditions, cutting their lap-time gap by around a second. Meanwhile, Aston Martin faced persistent issues with Honda's power unit, which caused severe vibrations damaging the battery. Engineers noted the problem was harder to diagnose, as test-bench vibrations differ from those experienced in the car.
Antonelli's dominant FP3 performance sets the tone for qualifying, while McLaren and Aston Martin continue troubleshooting. The upgrades from Cadillac show early promise, but reliability concerns remain for several teams ahead of the session.
