The final practice session at Suzuka began with immediate concern for McLaren, as Lando Norris was not on track due to an issue with his ERS system. The team worked on replacing the unit and warned it was unlikely he would take part in most of the session.

That left just 21 drivers at the start, with Franco Colapinto the first to head out. He had the track to himself early on and set the opening lap time. Soon after, Lewis Hamilton moved to the top, before improving again as more drivers slowly joined the session, with only a handful setting times in the opening minutes.

Ferrari briefly looked strong, as Hamilton and then Charles Leclerc traded fastest laps, with Leclerc edging ahead by a small margin. However, the order quickly changed once Kimi Antonelli put in a very fast lap, going comfortably clear at the top before Leclerc responded to close the gap again.

There were several small incidents during the session. Sergio Perez had a big lock-up into the chicane and ran through the gravel, while drivers reported traffic issues, including complaints involving Esteban Ocon and Oscar Piastri.

Red Bull joined the action later than others, with Max Verstappen only managing a midfield time on his first run. Meanwhile, McLaren managed to get Norris out on track with around 25 minutes to go, and he set his first lap of the session shortly after.

Mercedes then took control of the session, with Antonelli and George Russell moving into a clear one-two position. Behind them, Oliver Bearman had a spin at Spoon corner but did well to avoid the barriers and return to the pits.

In the final minutes, drivers focused on qualifying simulations, but no one could match the pace of the Mercedes pair, who stayed comfortably ahead of the rest of the field.

At the end of the session, Kimi Antonelli finished fastest with a 1:29.362, leading a strong Mercedes one-two ahead of George Russell. Charles Leclerc was third, followed by Oscar Piastri in fourth and Lewis Hamilton in fifth. Lando Norris recovered to sixth despite his earlier issues, while Nico Hülkenberg took seventh. Max Verstappen finished eighth, with Gabriel Bortoleto ninth and Pierre Gasly completing the top ten.