2025 Singapore GP FP3: Verstappen edges Piastri in tight final practice

Max Verstappen topped the times in final practice for the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix, as the four-time World Champion edged McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by just 0.017 seconds in a tense final hour before Qualifying.

The Red Bull driver’s 1m 30.148s lap came late in the session, as conditions heated up under the setting sun at Marina Bay and the 2025 F1 World Championship contenders began to show their true pace. Mercedes’ George Russell completed the top three, only 0.049s off the benchmark, hinting at a close battle for pole later in the evening.

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After a chaotic Friday that saw two red flags in FP2, Saturday’s FP3 offered one last chance for fine-tuning before the floodlit showdown. The session began at 17:30 local time in hotter conditions than the previous evening, with Haas leading the early runners and most of the grid starting on medium tyres. Lando Norris laid down the first serious marker with a 1m 31.021s, his engineer quipping “Welcome back” as McLaren’s pace returned after a mixed Friday.

The first red flag arrived 15 minutes in when Liam Lawson clipped the Turn 8 wall after bouncing over the kerbs, his Racing Bulls car suffering heavy damage for the second time in as many days. Once the VCARB 02 was cleared, running resumed with just over 35 minutes to go, and Mercedes immediately switched to soft tyres for Qualifying simulations. Both Russell and rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli were among the first to go purple in sectors, showing promising speed for the Silver Arrows.

Moments later, a yellow flag appeared when Carlos Sainz ran off at Turn 14 before reversing back onto the track. At the same time, Williams’ Alex Albon used the soft C5 tyres to slot into second place behind Norris, before having his own off-track moment at Turn 16. As times tumbled, Antonelli briefly took P1 with a 1m 30.760s, an impressive display that underlined the 18-year-old’s growing confidence, while the stewards confirmed that Lewis Hamilton, the driver Antonelli replaced at Mercedes, was under investigation for a red flag infringement earlier in the hour.

Fernando Alonso, the FP1 pacesetter, endured a frustrating session as he was told to limp his Aston Martin back to the pits with a technical issue inside the final 15 minutes. Up front, the battle for the top spot intensified as more drivers switched to the soft tyres. Charles Leclerc jumped to P1 on his first flying lap before being displaced by Norris, who in turn was edged out by Verstappen’s 1m 30.148s. Russell slotted into third, but admitted he was “struggling for confidence” through Turn 16—the same corner where he crashed during FP2.

The closing minutes brought more traffic drama, with Verstappen squeezed for space alongside Alpine’s Franco Colapinto as both tried to give room to Pierre Gasly ahead. Despite the congestion, Verstappen held firm at the top, with Piastri’s late flyer falling just 0.017s short. Russell’s 1m 30.197s secured third, followed by an impressive Antonelli in fourth, matched to the thousandth by Norris in fifth.

Sainz finished sixth for Williams, ahead of Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar in seventh and Hamilton in eighth, his time still under review by stewards. Kick Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and Ferrari’s Leclerc completed the top 10. Albon led the midfield in P11, followed by Gabriel Bortoleto (P12), the Haas pair of Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman, and Alonso, who dropped to P15 after his issues.

Behind them, Colapinto placed 16th, Stroll 17th, Tsunoda 18th, Gasly 19th, and the luckless Lawson last in 20th after his earlier crash.

With only 0.089 seconds separating the top five, the stage is perfectly set for a blockbuster Qualifying session.

2025 Singapore GP FP3 Results

2025 Singapore Grand Prix FP3, 4 October 2025