Bottas and Mercedes lead pack in FP3

F1 Grand Prix, GP Japan, Circuit Suzuka

Valtteri Bottas was fastest in the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix later today. He was narrowly faster than Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton, with both driver having a reasonable margin over the competition.

Hamilton already claimed on Friday that his Mercedes felt like it should again, and his and Bottas's performances seem to confirm that the silver arrows were back on form. Sebastian Vettel was the closest challenger and limited the deficit to 3 tenths.

The Red Bull duo were fourth and fifth fastest, but nearly a second down on the Mercedes. Ocon, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Perez nad Palmer were all more than a full second down as they completed the top 10.

Raikkonen was the most notable driver absent from that top 10, due to an error at Degner 2. Going into the corner slightly too quickly, he oversteered and went sideways into the barriers. Ferrari would later announced they would change the gearbox on the Finn's car, resulting in a 5-place grid penalty, just like his fellow countryman Bottas.

Oh Kimi 🙈 #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 #F1 pic.twitter.com/3CAfuGHZoa

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 7, 2017

Bottas on his behalf also had a bit of a moment, as he went too wide on the exit of Spoon, ending up going through the grass and ruining his front wing, along with causing a right rear puncture. It was extremely clumsy and very unlike the Finn.

After setting the fastest time in FP3, @ValtteriBottas had what could be a costly slip #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 #F1 pic.twitter.com/8RqAjYy2yx

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 7, 2017