Sky cloudy Dry. Air +28…29С, highway +44…47С
Already in the morning the stands in Suzuka were completely filled. The weekend turned out to be dry and hot, the fans were happy with the sun and the races – cold weather and rain won’t start until next week.
On Friday, many worked with new products and tires, and on Saturday morning they focused on tuning their cars – not everyone managed to find the optimal balance the day before. Alpine restored Gasly’s car after Friday’s accident, and his teammate Ocon had parts of the power plant replaced – without penalty.
The session went very quietly. Sainz caught the gravel in turn eight and Leclerc scraped the bottom in turn nine. Magnussen interfered with Tsunoda in the “esques” and then apologized by raising his hand as he passed by.
Tire wear remained high and strategy will be a key factor in Sunday’s race.
Just like on Friday, Max Verstappen set the best time and completed a lap in 1:30.267, but the results were much tighter.
Results of the third session
| Pilot | Team | Time | Difference | Circles |
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:30,267 | – | 12 |
| 2. L.Norris | McLaren | 1:30,507 | +0.240 | 16 |
| 3. O. Piastri | McLaren | 1:30,555 | +0.288 | 15 |
| 4. C. Perez | Red Bull | 1:31,004 | +0.737 | 12 |
| 5. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:31.022 | +0.755 | 20 |
| 6. K.Sainz | Ferrari | 1:31,137 | +0.870 | 20 |
| 7. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:31,159 | +0.892 | 13 |
| 8. D. Russell | Mercedes | 1:31,505 | +1,238 | 9 |
| 9. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:31,549 | +1,282 | 16 |
| 10. G.Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1:31,668 | +1,401 | 15 |
| 11. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:31,699 | +1,432 | 15 |
| 12. K. Magnussen | Hare | 1:31,880 | +1,613 | 16 |
| 13. E. Okon | Alps | 1:31,924 | +1,657 | 13 |
| 14. Yu.Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:31,951 | +1,684 | 18 |
| 15. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | 1:31,979 | +1,712 | 13 |
| 16. L. Sargent | Williams | 1:32,002 | +1,735 | 13 |
| 17. L. Lawson | AlphaTauri | 1:32,048 | +1,781 | 18 |
| 18. A. Elbon | Williams | 1:32,113 | +1,846 | 12 |
| 19. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 1:32,154 | +1,887 | 19 |
| 20. P. Gasly | Alps | 1:32,199 | +1,932 | 15 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
