McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris has topped final practice at the Mexico Grand Prix ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session, while the Briton’s title rivals appeared on the back foot.
In the final quarter of the one-hour session at a low-grip Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Norris set a 1m16.633s lap to beat Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ George Russell, with Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen fifth and sixth.
Final practice got off to a slow start in unrepresentative conditions for qualifying later on Saturday afternoon. Verstappen set the first lap time, a 1m18.914s on mediums which would end up over two second slower than the final benchmarks.
Hamilton was tracking to go quicker until he went wide in the second sector as his struggles with the Ferrari’s brakes seemed to continue. Verstappen then clocked a 1m18.051s on mediums to fend off a host of fellow medium runners until Carlos Sainz’s 1m18.028s soft-tyre lap put the Williams driver on top by the 15-minute mark.
After locking up the front right on his first medium-tyre push lap, Norris eventually grabbed the top spot with a 1m18.015s, while team-mate Piastri again looked a step behind on mediums, as he did on Friday.
Russell was the first driver to dip below the 1m18s mark with a 1m17.892s on mediums, but the wait continued for more representative laps on the C5 soft tyre, which Pirelli projects to be up to seven tenths faster per lap around the high-altitude Mexico City venue.
Albon threatened to go quickest to underline that point, until he locked up and went wide in the Foro Sol stadium section. But the Williams man heralded the start of a frantic barrage of qualifying simulations inside the final 15 minutes.
Isack Hadjar, Piastri, Charles Leclerc, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Hamilton all cycled through to the lead until Norris fired in a 1m16.633s lap that stayed on top until the chequered flag.
Hamilton was second, three tenths in arrears, followed by Russell, Leclerc and Piastri, who heads into qualifying six tenths behind team-mate and title rival Norris.
Having wrapped up a long run on mediums, Verstappen’s soft-tyre attempts were disappointing too, the Dutchman only sixth-fastest ahead of Antonelli. Verstappen is expected to have deployed more conservative engine modes, but the reigning world champion also lamented a lack of grip from his RB21.
After scolding fellow Frenchman Pierre Gasly for getting in his way, Hadjar was eighth-fastest in the Racing Bulls car. Yuki Tsunoda and Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10.
Mexico GP – Free Practice 3
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– The Autosport.com Team
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