#F1 #SaudiArabianGP FP3: @LandoNorris pips @OscarPiastri by 0.024s.
Lando Norris, #4, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL39, Free Practice 3, Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2025, Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Image credit to Clive Mason/Getty Images. Norris Saudi Arabian GP FP3, F1 Jeddah GP FP3, Saudi Arabian GP FP3, F1 Saudi GP FP3.
Norris Saudi Arabian GP FP3 – Championship leader Lando Norris pipped team-mate Oscar Piastri to head a McLaren one-two in the final FP3 session at the Saudi Arabian GP as Mercedes’ George Russell rounded out the top three.
Norris posted the session-topping benchmark of a 1:27.489 on the C5 red-side walled soft tyres and was a slim 0.024 seconds whilst Russell was a further 0.627 seconds off his fellow British-compatriot in third.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto was the first driver to take to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit with the C4 yellow-branded mediums. Alpine’s Jack Doohan emerged on the C5 softs whilst the two Aston Martin’s of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll came out on the C3 white side-walled harder tyres.
Bortoleto was the first to register a lap-time of a 1:32.160 and was then beaten by Doohan’s 1:30.613 effort on the softer rubber and went 1.547 seconds quicker.
Bortoleto improved on his next flyer to go 0.393 seconds closer then Haas’s Esteban Ocon shot to the top with a 1:30.515 to be 0.098 seconds quicker than Doohan’s effort.
The other VF-25 of Oliver Bearman was next scoring a personal best in sector one and two purple to go 0.263 seconds faster than team-mate Ocon to take P1.
The two Ferrari’s then emerged on the softs as Sir Lewis Hamilton lead out team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton set three personal bests to move up into second on a 1:30.367 and was 0.115 off Bearman as Leclerc slotted in third on a 1:30.408.
Then Doohan blasted to the top with three purples posting a 1:29.666 to be 0.586 seconds quicker than Bearman.
Ocon then moved to second and was 0.177 seconds off of Doohan’s effort.
The McLaren duo was next as Oscar Piastri with three purples slotted into P1 with a 1:29.118 then came team-mate Lando Norris and the Briton slotted behind the Australian in second by 0.085 seconds.
Bearman then improved to go third and was 0.454 off Piastri’s time.
Reigning world champion Verstappen was on his flyer setting two purple opening sectors and personal best final sector to take P1 with a 1:29.088 and pipped Piastri’s time by 0.041 seconds.
Hamilton came next with a purple middle sector to third and was 0.111 off Verstappen.
Then Leclerc with a purple opening sector and two personal bests knocked Verstappen off the P1 slot, posting a 1:28.860 and was 0.217 seconds quicker than the Dutchman.
Piastri then reclaimed top spot with two purples with a 1:28.605 to be 0.255 seconds faster than Leclerc.
Mercedes’ George Russell was next moving up into sixth as his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli jumped into tenth in the order.
Norris with a purple sector one jumped to second to be 0.158 seconds off his leading team-mate.
Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg on his qualifying simulation run moved up to seventh to be 0.837 seconds adrift of Piastri’s time.
Piastri then improved to a 1:28.470 to be 0.293 seconds clear of McLaren team-mate Norris.
Norris was next with two personal bests and ended up 0.207 seconds off Piastri’s benchmark just at the midway point of the final hour long session.
Yuki Tsunoda after suffering his shunt yesterday in FP2, with three personal bests to go fifth and behind team-mate Verstappen.
Verstappen then with a purple and two personal bests slotted into third and 0.277 seconds adrift.
Russell improved to fifth to demote Tsunoda and Antonelli split Hamilton and Gasly to go into eighth.
Leclerc then relegated Verstappen to fourth with a 1:28.718 effort as Williams’ Alexander Albon slotted into sixth.
The other Williams of Carlos Sainz then moved into fifth to be 0.426 seconds off Piastri’s effort.
With 22 minutes remaining there was a lull with drivers coming back in to make any last minute setup changes before Parc Ferme kicks in before Qualifying.
The field then re-emerged with another fresh set of the C5 softer compound to have another shot with a final qualifying simulation run.
Russell lead the pack, and he moved to the top with a 1:28.214 then Antonelli jumped fourth.
Piastri then put in a banger lap with three purples with a 1:27.513 as Norris slotted behind in second and was 0.158 seconds off the Australian.
Albon moved up into fourth as Verstappen pipped Red Bull team-mate Tsunoda for fifth.
Leclerc was next on his flyer to go fourth fastest and 0.859 seconds off Piastri as Hamilton dropped to 12th after Lawson jumped up to tenth.
Alonso with three personal bests took ninth place in the classification ending up 1.375 off Piastri’s benchmark.
Norris then with another flyer set a purple sector one and a personal best in the middle sector snatch P1 off his team-mate by 0.024 seconds.
Sainz followed to split the Red Bull duo in seventh place to be 1.081 seconds off Norris’s effort.
Gasly then slotted into eighth demoting Tsunoda to ninth.
Hamilton could only improve to 12th on his flying lap whilst Russell took third with two personal bests.
Norris headed the times in another McLaren one-two with team-mate Piastri second as Russell completed the top three.
Verstappen followed in fourth and ahead of Ferrari’s Leclerc who took fifth and the Williams pairing of Albon and Sainz who placed sixth and seventh for Williams.
Alpine’s Gasly was eighth as Red Bull’s Tsunoda and Mercedes’ Antonelli rounded out the top ten.
You can see the full Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2025 Free Practice 3 Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2025/races/1258/saudi-arabia/practice/3
