3rd practice session, Sepang: Red flag! Kimi Antonelli ahead of Max Verstappen

Unlike the previous day, when all the drivers had quickly left the pits at the same time during FP1 to explore the new circuit, the qualifying dress rehearsal on Saturday afternoon local time – Saturday morning in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – got off to a very leisurely start. Liam Lawson, Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly, Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto opened the session

With an air temperature of 32.3 degrees Celsius and a track temperature of 57.5 degrees at the start of the session, things got underway. The probability of rain for FP3: 0 per cent, according to the FIA weather service. That is likely to change as we approach qualifying.

Audi broke the so-called ‘curfew’, i.e. the overnight work ban for teams. Work was therefore carried out in the garage outside the permitted times. In doing so, they have used up the third of four ‘jokers’ allowed over the course of the season. Gabriel Bortoleto had pulled over at the end of FP2 with a problem with his car. Speaking of which – Audi then came out after ten minutes.

After a quarter of an hour, the track was getting busier; only Red Bull Racing, Mercedes and the two Malaysia veterans, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, were still waiting. Most drivers were on soft tyres, Lando Norris on mediums – and Charles Leclerc on hards. It was the first run on hard tyres of the weekend – and the session’s first sub-1:37 time, clocking 1:37.772 mins. For reference: on Friday, both fastest practice times were in the 1:37.52 range. So there was clearly more to come.

Red flag at half-time

The two McLarens topped the timesheets, with Lando Norris leading the way at 1:37.161 (on Mediums) – and then, out of nowhere, suddenly the red flag! Replays showed that Oliver Bearman suddenly had something long, black and flexible on his right front wheel. Perhaps a piece of a seal? It’s unclear. A brief red flag meant all drivers had to return to the pits. But five minutes later, proceedings were back on track.

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Sepang: Qualifying

FIA Formula One World Championship

03.10.2026 - 09:30

After the brief interruption, Mercedes stepped up a gear. The Stuttgart-based team have a major upgrade package on the car this weekend, but their performance on Friday was still somewhat unclear. Antonelli then set the first 1:36-minute time of the weekend (1:36.924 mins).

It was still practice – but for a moment we saw something almost like a race between Charles Leclerc and Arvid Lindblad, as Leclerc came up from behind and Lindblad fought back.

Antonelli on top

And just before the end, the times dropped again: Antonelli clocked a superb 1:36.302! The two Red Bull Racing cars got within two-tenths of a second, but couldn’t beat the championship leader: Max Verstappen was second behind Antonelli, Isack Hadjar third (0.5 seconds behind Antonelli), and George Russell fourth. Behind them, Ferrari and McLaren were paired up. Nico Hülkenberg was P16.