Lando Norris enjoyed a clear advantage in FP3 at the Mexico City Grand Prix while Max Verstappen and title leader Oscar Piastri struggled for pace.
Norris needed only one soft-tire run to obliterate what had been looking like a close battle for top spot, the McLaren driver setting the benchmark at 1m16.633s. Setting three purple sectors along the way, it put him 0.345s clear at the head of the table, 0.599s ahead of teammate Piastri and 0.609s ahead of title challenger Verstappen.
In lieu of the title contenders pressuring Norris for top spot, Lewis Hamilton followed in second place, the Ferrari driver’s final sector comprising more than half of his deficit to the leader.
George Russell made it three teams in the top three, but the Mercedes driver was 0.512s slower than Norris, even as he led a tight pack of front-runners behind him.
Charles Leclerc improved late with a second flying lap to finish fourth and 0.054s behind Russell, with Piastri following a further 0.033s back despite having two attempts at a qualifying time. As was the case on Friday, the bulk of the Australian’s deficit to his teammate came in the twisty middle sector comprising Turns 4 to 11, where he lost 0.347s to Norris.
Verstappen needed three laps on softs to rise to sixth and 0.01s behind Piastri. Red Bull Racing sent the Dutchman out unusually early in FP3, with flow-vis paint on his rear wing suggesting the team needed to validate significant changes made to the RB21 overnight in pursuit of better grip to improve the car’s predicted race pace. If it worked, it came at the expense of Verstappen’s Friday-topping single-lap pace.
“No grip, front and rear,” he radioed during his qualifying runs.
Kimi Antonelli was seventh and 0.011s behind Verstappen at the tail of the tight front-running group.
Isack Hadjar was best of the midfielders in eighth despite being enraged by an encounter with a slow-moving Pierre Gasly later in the session. Yuki Tsunoda was ninth, adrift from the leaders, but was only 0.173s slower than Verstappen, while Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10 for Sauber, the Brazilian 0.893s off the pace.
Liam Lawson made a mistake on his first lap on softs to finish 11th ahead of Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg.
Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon were 1.168s and 1.361s off the pace respectively in a car that struggled in the big braking zones, with both drivers spotted flying off the track repeatedly. Albon’s session later ended with a power unit issue.
Oliver Bearman was 17th ahead of Alpine drivers Gasly and Colapinto, last among the drivers with a representative time.
Fernando Alonso’s session ended after only 12 laps and without a representative soft lap due to technical problems with his Aston Martin.
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