The McLaren team’s Lando Norris achieved the fastest time in the concluding practice session at the Mexico Grand Prix, occurring before Saturday’s qualifying round, while his main rivals in the championship appeared to struggle.
During the last segment of the hour-long session held at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, known for its slippery conditions, Norris posted a lap time of 1m16.633s, outperforming Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ George Russell. Oscar Piastri secured fifth position, with Max Verstappen in sixth.
The final practice commenced at a leisurely pace under conditions that did not accurately reflect those anticipated for the qualifying session later on Saturday. Verstappen initially set the pace with a time of 1m18.914s on medium tires, which ultimately proved to be over two seconds slower than the fastest times recorded later.
Hamilton was on track to achieve a quicker time until he drifted wide in the second sector, suggesting ongoing difficulties with the Ferrari’s braking system. Subsequently, Verstappen recorded a 1m18.051s on medium tires, holding off several competitors also using medium tires, until Carlos Sainz, on soft tires, achieved a time of 1m18.028s, placing the Williams driver at the top of the leaderboard by the 15-minute mark.
After experiencing a front-right tire lock-up during his initial push lap with medium tires, Norris eventually claimed the top spot with a time of 1m18.015s, while his teammate Piastri appeared slightly behind on medium tires, mirroring their performance on Friday.
Russell became the first driver to break the 1m18s barrier with a 1m17.892s lap on medium tires, but anticipation grew for more representative lap times using the C5 soft tire, which Pirelli estimated could provide up to a seven-tenths of a second advantage per lap at the high-altitude Mexico City track.
Albon hinted at a potential fastest time, emphasizing this point, but he locked up and went wide in the Foro Sol stadium area. However, the Williams driver signaled the commencement of a series of qualifying simulation runs within the final 15 minutes.
Isack Hadjar, Piastri, Charles Leclerc, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and Hamilton all took turns at the lead until Norris set a time of 1m16.633s, which remained unmatched until the checkered flag.
Hamilton finished second, three tenths of a second behind, followed by Russell, Leclerc, and Piastri, who entered the qualifying session six tenths of a second slower than his teammate and championship contender Norris.
Having concluded a long run on medium tires, Verstappen’s attempts on soft tires were also underwhelming, with the Dutch driver only managing the sixth-fastest time, ahead of Antonelli. It is believed that Verstappen employed more conservative engine settings, but the reigning world champion also expressed concerns about a lack of grip from his RB21.
After criticizing fellow countryman Pierre Gasly for impeding his progress, Hadjar secured the eighth-fastest time in the Racing Bulls car. Yuki Tsunoda and Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top 10.
Mexico GP – Free Practice 3
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– The Autosport.com Team
