Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen went quickest in a tight final practice session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix in which the top five drivers were covered by less than a tenth of a second. 

Verstappen’s time of 1:30.148 was just 0.017s ahead of championship leading McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, with the Mercedes’ George Russell a couple of hundredths further back. Kimi Antonelli in the other Mercedes and Lando Norris in the other Mclaren set identical times of 1:30.237 to finish just 0.089s off the pace. 

Norris led the way in the early minutes of the session, posting a 1:32.379 to sit almost two tenths ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri with both on Medium tyres. 

As the first quarter elapsed the Williams pair of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon emerged on Soft tyres and the Spaniard took top spot on 1:31.960, with Albon three tenths back. Norris was finding more time on his C3 tyres, however, and with a lap of 1:31.021, prompting a “welcome back” message from race engineer Will Joseph after the British driver had complained about being half a second off the pace on Friday. 

Behind the McLaren, Sainz held P2 ahead of Haas’ Oliver Bearman and Racing Bulls Isack Hadjar but the red flags then came out when Hadjar’s team-mate, Liam Lawson, hit the barriers for the second day in a row. 

The New Zealander exited FP2 in a collision with the barriers at Turn 17 in FP2 and in final practice it was Turn 7 that caught out the 23-year-old. The Kiwi racer skated on the exit kerb and was flung into the wall on the outside of the corner, causing significant damage to the right side of his car. 

After a short halt to repair the barriers, the session got underway again with 35 minutes left on the clock. 

Max Verstappen, whose first out lap of the session was halted by Lawson’s crash, was one of the first out on track, on Medium tyres and as Albon, on Softs, claimed P2 with a 1:31.173, the Dutchman vaulted from 20th to fourth with a time of 1:31.526 to sit 0.505s off Norris. 

The four-time champion was soon shunted back a position as Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton moved to fourth place a little under eight hundredths of a second ahead of Verstappen. However, the seven-time champion was also noted by race officials for a potential red flag infringement. 

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli then bolted on a set of Soft tyres and aided by a purple middle sector, the Italian rookie jumped to the top of the order with a lap of 1:30.760. His team-mate, George Russell, also switched to the C5s and he claimed P4 behind Albon with a time of 1:31.238. The bulk of the field then returned to the pits ahead of the qualifying sims. 

With new Softs on board, Charles Leclerc took P1 with a lap of 1:30.651, a tenth clear of Antonelli. 

Hadjar was next across the line and he jumped to P2, but the McLarens were on track and Norris threw down the gauntlet to go three tenths of a second clear at the top with a lap of 1:30.292. 

Verstappen was happy to take up the challenge, however, and with a purple middle sector he took P1 with a time of 1:30.146. Russell also cleared Norris’ time and his 1:30.197 elevated him to P2 a little under tenth ahead of the Norris. Piastri, meanwhile, had delivered a scrappy opening flyer and he sat in P7, four tenths off Verstappen. 

In the final moments of the session, Hadjar went for a second attempt on the same set of tyres and the Racing Bulls driver rose five places to take P7 at the flag. 

It was Piastri who profited most from a late flyer, however. Aided by yet another purple middle sector, the Australian posted a lap of 1:30.165 to jump to P2, just 0.017s behind Verstappen. 

Behind the championship leader, Russell held third ahead of Antonelli, while Norris, who couldn’t improve on his final lap, finished fifth. Sainz finished sixth ahead of Hadjar with Hamilton eighth ahead of Kick Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg. The top 10 order was completed by Leclerc. 

2025 FIA Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix – Free Practice 3
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:30.148 16 196.756
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:30.165 0.017 26 196.719
3 George Russell Mercedes 1:30.197 0.049 18 196.649
4 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:30.237 0.089 19 196.562
5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:30.237 0.089 26 196.562
6 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:30.392 0.244 23 196.225
7 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:30.489 0.341 25 196.014
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:30.559 0.411 23 195.863
9 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:30.637 0.489 22 195.694
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:30.651 0.503 23 195.664
11 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:30.668 0.520 23 195.628
12 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:30.697 0.549 25 195.565
13 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:30.784 0.636 23 195.378
14 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:30.799 0.651 24 195.345
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:30.923 0.775 22 195.079
16 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:31.047 0.899 23 194.813
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:31.260 1.112 24 194.358
18 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:31.440 1.292 25 193.976
19 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:31.643 1.495 23 193.546
20 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:33.628 3.480 7 189.443