Mercedes Dominates Final Practice in Japan

0:00On March 28th, Kimi Antonelli put Mercedes on top in final practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, edging out teammate George Russell by a quarter. Second with a blistering 1 minute 29.392 seconds lap, the silver arrows dominated all three sectors, building a massive A-10s gap over Ferrari and more than a second on McLaren, positioning them as clear favorites heading into qualifying. Antonelli first broke the 1 minute 30 barrier on soft tires, improving from his initial push while Russell replied but couldn't match the pace. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc landed third at 1 minute 30.200, though he eased off his last lap, widening the deficit with Oscar, Piochtree 4th from McLaren. McLaren faced fresh headaches after Shanghai woes, swapping Lando Norris' electric motor early, but the champ fought back to 6th by Sessions' end. Max Verstappen struggled in A for Red Bull, plagued by grip issues and poor downshifts despite set-up tweaks while Nico Halkenberg surprised in, 7th for Audi.

1:03Lower down, Audi's Gabriel Bortelato and Alpine's Pierre Gasly filled the top 10 over 1.6 seconds off Antonelli's mark. The session stayed mostly clean, aside from a close call for Haas' Oliver Bareman, whom Russell praised for a sharp save. Mercedes rolls into 3 p.m. qualifying, locked and loaded, ready to extend their early season edge on this demanding Suzuki track. From your team, powered by AI, this is F1 News Today, I'm Corey with the story.