07:09
Order after the first runs
Piastri, Russell, Norris, Verstappen, Leclerc, Tsunoda, Albon, Gasly, Lawson and Alonso.
Lewis Hamilton
2025 F1 Japanese Grand Prix - Qualifying - As it happened
A recap of what happened in F1 qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix.
05 Apr 2025
07:07
Russell
Russell splits the McLarens, 0.058s off Piastri's top time.
07:07
Verstappen goes second
More encouraging for the reigning world champion as he slots into second, over a tenth off Norris.
He's demoted to third, though, as Piastri goes fastest.
07:06
Tsunoda
A solid first lap from Tsunoda, which puts him third in the order, 0.4s off the pace.
07:05
Leclerc leads the way
A 1m28.571s for Leclerc, 0.5s ahead of Hamilton, who is on the mediums.
Norris quickly beats the two Ferraris though, 0.3s ahead of Leclerc.
07:02
Hamilton
Hamilton has opted to do his first run on the mediums. Everyone else is out there on the softs.
07:00
Q1 is underway
Here we go then... the start of qualifying at Suzuka.
06:55
No chance of pole for Red Bull?
Horner says: “We have an imbalance in the car that doesn’t allow the drivers to commit to corner entries. It is an area we know we need to work hard on and Max is very focused on that."
06:55
Our qualifying prediction
Norris, Piastri, Russell, Verstappen and Leclerc.
06:40
06:31
Not long to go now
We're building up to qualifying, which kicks off in 30 minutes' time.
05:06
Update from the FIA
"Ahead of Qualifying, all available time and resources will be focused on further dampening the grass before the session."
04:41
FP3 results
| 2025 F1 Japanese Grand Prix - Free Practice Results (3) | ||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time |
| 1 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1m27.965s |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1m27.991s |
| 3 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m28.077s |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m28.414s |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m28.497s |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m28.524s |
| 7 | Alex Albon | THA | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m28.554s |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m28.785s |
| 9 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m28.603s |
| 10 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m28.786s |
| 11 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m28.846s |
| 12 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m29.104s |
| 13 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m29.126s |
| 14 | Jack Doohan | AUS | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m29.767s |
| 15 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m29.772s |
| 16 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m30.084s |
| 17 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m30.134s |
| 18 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m30.183s |
| 19 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m30.267s |
| 20 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m30.621s |
04:31
Chequered flag
Norris tops the session from Piastri, Russell, Leclerc and Verstappen.
04:30
News from the FIA
The session won't resume.
04:24
Red flag
Fire.
04:22
Norris makes it a McLaren 1-2
0.026s between Norris and Piastri at the top of the order.
04:21
Into the final 10 minutes
Piastri leads Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, Albon, Gasly, Verstappen, Tsunoda, Hadjar and Norris.
04:18
Russell improves
Russell improves his personal best but stays second - within a tenth of Piastri.
04:17
Piastri lowers the benchmark
A 1m27.991s for Piastri as he lowers the benchmark. Norris has just run wide at Degna 2.
04:16
Verstappen
Verstappen goes a tenth ahead of Tsunoda.
04:15
Tsunoda improves
He's 0.4s off Russell's pace now. Let's see what Verstappen can do.
04:14
Time for more soft tyre runs
Tsunoda is running on a new set of softs as he gears up for his first qualifying session for Red Bull.
04:10
20 minutes on the clock
Russell leads Leclerc, Hamilton, Piastri, Norris, Tsunoda, Gasly, Hadjar, Alonso and Bearman.
04:05
Good time from Russell
He surges to the top of the timesheets with a 1m28.385s, 0.3s ahead of Piastri.
