McLaren's Lando Norris set a 1m 17.600s late in FP3, with Leclerc a tenth back in third.
Lando Norris set the fastest time in the third free practice session for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Saturday, a 1m 17.600s in the closing minutes. Kimi Antonelli was 0.001s slower and Charles Leclerc about a tenth behind. Gabriel Bortoleto had a power unit issue and Sergio Perez did not set a lap.
McLaren's Lando Norris was quickest in the last practice session before qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix. His 1m 17.600s came late in the hour at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Saturday and left Kimi Antonelli 0.001s behind, with Charles Leclerc about one-tenth off the pace in third.
Formula 1 said Antonelli, who could take his first drivers' title this weekend, first led the times just before the 20-minute mark on medium Pirelli tyres, then lowered the benchmark again on the softs with a 1m 17.601s. That stayed second-best at the chequered flag.
Top ten
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) was fourth behind Leclerc. The rest of the top ten, in order, were Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, and Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls cars. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) was 11th.
Problems and changes
- Gabriel Bortoleto's Audi suffered a power unit issue early on, with smoke coming from the back of the car as he returned to the pits. He failed to set a time.
- Sergio Perez did not set a lap, with Cadillac making a precautionary power unit change on his car ahead of qualifying.
- Ryo Hirakawa, the Toyota World Endurance Championship driver, headed out first as Esteban Ocon's replacement at Haas for the rest of the weekend. He drove in FP1 on Friday and ahead of his F1 debut circulated frequently to gather data.
Moments in the session
Times fell towards the halfway point, with Hamilton posting a 1m 18.268s and Leclerc a 1m 18.152s. Russell was the first to try the soft tyre, setting a 1m 18.107s and saying that Turn 12 was so bad there was no rear end. Norris was the first below 1m 18s, with a 1m 17.873s.
Leclerc backed out of his first soft-tyre attempt after a wide moment, then climbed to second with a strong final sector. Hamilton had a slide out of the final corner, and Verstappen ran deep at Turn 4.
The rest of the order, after Hulkenberg, was Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso and Ollie Bearman, then Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Lance Stroll, Hirakawa and Valtteri Bottas.
