Verstappen tops dry final Japanese GP practice ahead of Sainz, Leclerc
FP3 at Suzuka was the first dry running of the weekend after both Friday practice sessions were hit with rain.
With qualifying set to be dry as well, it was crucial for all the teams to complete as many laps as possible.
Verstappen led the way in the early stages after a busy start to the session, going 1.2s clear of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, while Ferrari and Mercedes opted to run the medium and hard tyres respectively.
Due to the limited running so far, teams varied their run plans so there was a significant gap between many of the drivers in the first 30 minutes.
In the second half of the session, qualifying simulations were the main focus with Sainz taking the to the top.
The Spaniard failed to improve on his new set of softs at the end of the session, allowing teammate Charles Leclerc to close to within a tenth.
Verstappen stormed to the top, nearly three-tenths ahead of Sainz, on a weekend he could become a two-time F1 champion.
Fernando Alonso impressed for Alpine in fourth, leading Perez, who encountered traffic on his final lap.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were sixth and seventh respectively, while Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris and Lance Stroll rounded out the top 10.
Daniel Ricciardo was only a tenth off his teammate in 11th, just ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon.
Valtteri Bottas was 13th, with Alfa Romeo introducing a new front wing for this weekend.
Sebastian Vettel finished 14th overall, ahead of Kevin Magnussen, Mick Schumacher and Yuki Tsunoda.
Zhou Guanyu was 18th, 0.5s clear of Nicholas Latifi.
Newly-signed Alpine driver, Pierre Gasly, completed the order at Suzuka.
