- Carlos Sainz made it to the Top 10 in the final Free Practice session at Suzuka, with a fastest time of 1:31.513 that was enough to clinch the ninth spot.
- The Spaniard finished ahead if the Haas, Saubers and Toro Rossos, all of them competitors in the upcoming fight in Qualifying.
- On a changing track due to the rain, the Renault driver completed 11 laps on soft tyres plus two on supersofts, on which he set his fastest time. Following that, Carlos’s teammate Nico Hülkenberg crashed and caused a red flag that brought the session to an end.
