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The F1 FP3 2025 Japanese Grand Prix session saw more disruptions, with grass fires being the main issue throughout this weekend. We saw the drivers pushing their limits, and after a hugely disrupted FP2, drivers were keen to get some good laps behind them and the teams. Lando Norris topped the timesheets in this session, with his teammate Oscar Piastri close behind him. George Russel took third.
The session is underway.
In the first few minutes of the final free practice of the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, Isack Hadjar reported “A problem in the cockpit”. Hadjar stated the issue was “quite bad”, and he returned to the pit lane for investigations. We later found his seatbelt had become loose during his first few laps of the session.
The red flags come out!
The session came to a halt less than ten minutes after it begun, due to a trackside fire caused by the cars’ sparks igniting the dry grass. This was not ideal for anyone, especially after the lack of cars on track last session.
Back to green.
The cars got back underway, and strategies seemed to be very split within teams. With teams not getting much vital information out of practice two, they were pushing the limits in this session. Lando Norris was one of these drivers pushing the boundaries of the capability of his McLaren.
Not long after Norris’ eye watering moment, Carlos Sainz found himself driving across the grass after running wide. He managed to get his car back on the track after travelling through the gravel.
Half Way Through!
At the midpoint of the F1 FP3 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, we saw Piastri in the top spot, with Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, all split by less than a tenth of a second.
Lance Stroll had issues with his car, his radio message stating “I feel something vibrating”, and asked if perhaps a wheel nut was loose. Aston Martin haven’t had an ideal weekend, after Fernando Alonso beaching his car in the previous session.
Lando Norris saw problems in this session, with his car picking up floor damage, he spent some time stuck in the garage. He had been pushing the car to its limits today, riding the kerbs and going wide.
Nearing the end..
Now we saw lots of the front runners switching to soft tyres to put in their final laps of the session. Lando Norris put in a very impressive lap after his earlier problems in this session. The teams now had a small amount of time left to see if they can take top spot.
More grass fire!
At this point, it was getting ridiculous. The numerous cases of grass fires this weekend have severely impacted all of the teams’ ability to get a good gauge on how to run in qualifying, and the race.
This issue is an annoyance rather than anything else. The metal in the cars causes sparks, which does not make it hard for very dry grass to set alight and disrupt the session.
Qualifying is a huge worry for many on the grid, as disruption from this issue is highly likely.
Session will not be resumed.
The late red flag meant that racing came to a permanent holt for F1 FP3 of the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix. Teams were hoping to get back out before the end of the session, at least to bank a practice start on the grid, but this unfortunately was not the case.
What to expect next?
With qualifying at 7AM UK time on Saturday, 5th April, who will take pole position for the Grand Prix? Its all to play for here at Suzuka Circuit.
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Image Credit- Everything F1