F1 Results Today: Fires cause Japanese GP chaos as McLarens threatened

Marshals look on at the Japanese Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

Japanese Grand Prix Practice

F1 Results Today: Fires cause Japanese GP chaos as McLarens threatened

All the times from the final Japanese Grand Prix practice session

Originally written by Chris Deeley. This version is a translation.

Saturday 5 April 2025 05:46

The number of red flags shown in the Japanese Grand Prix weekend grew to six on Friday night, with two more stoppages for grass fires at the Suzuka track.

After four stoppages (two for fires) in FP2, Friday night's FP3 session saw its first after less than ten minutes despite the FIA taking extra precautions overnight.

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However, the vast majority of the session ran under green flag conditions once that first fire was extinguished, with around 45 minutes of clean running until a second fire terminally red flagged the session with six minutes to go, denying teams a chance for practice starts for the second day running.

The McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri topped the timing boards as expected, but George Russell pushed them hard, putting his Mercedes barely a tenth of a second behind on his qualifying simulation run and setting up a fascinating qualifying session.

F1 FP3 Results: Japanese Grand Prix 2025

1. Lando Norris [McLaren] - 1:27.965sec
2. Oscar Piastri [McLaren] - +0.026sec
3. George Russell [Mercedes] - +0.112sec
4. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari] - +0.449sec
5. Max Verstappen [Red Bull] - +0.532sec
6. Lewis Hamilton [Ferrari] - +0.559sec
7. Alex Albon [Williams] - +0.589sec
8. Pierre Gasly [Alpine] - +0.638sec
9. Yuki Tsunoda [Red Bull] - +0.820sec
10. Isack Hadjar [Racing Bulls] - +0.821sec
11. Carlos Sainz [Williams] - +0.881sec
12. Liam Lawson [Racing Bulls] - +1.139sec
13. Kimi Antonelli [Mercedes] - +1.161sec
14. Jack Doohan [Alpine] - +1.802sec
15. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin] - +1.807sec
16. Oliver Bearman [Haas] - +2.119sec
17. Gabriel Bortoleto [Kick Sauber] - +2.169sec
18. Esteban Ocon [Haas] - +2.218sec
19. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin] - +2.302sec
20. Nico Hulkenberg [Kick Sauber] - +2.656sec