FP3: Norris heads Hamilton in final practice in Mexico
McLaren's Lando Norris set the benchmark in the final practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix, beating Ferrari's seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The session was marked by many drivers struggling with grip, overheating tyres and navigating traffic.
The opening stages of the final practice saw drivers struggle for grip on the dirty surface of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. However, when drivers put on Pirelli's soft tyres, the times suddenly started to come down dramatically.
McLaren's Lando Norris set a time of 1m 16.633s that remained fastest at the chequered flag. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was the only other driver to go below the 1m 17s barrier this weekend with a 1m 16.978s, ending up second quickest.
Although he complained about the balance on Pirelli's mediums, Mercedes George Russell displayed a strong performance in the dying stages of the session, taking third, ahead of Charles Leclerc and championship leader Oscar Piastri, who finished six-tenths adrift of Norris.
Max Verstappen topped the timing sheets yesterday, but he ended up sixth quickest, with Antonelli less than one-tenth further back.
Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar was heard complaining about traffic, but he still managed to take eighth, from Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda in P9, while Kick Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10,.
The Brazilian driver was followed by Liam Lawson, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg. Williams endured a difficult session, with Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon ending up P15 and P16 respectively.
Following his strong performance last time out at Austin, Haas' rookie driver Ollie Bearman was left in P17, followed by the two Alpine's of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.
Fernando Alonso finished 20th, with Aston Martin reporting they had "discovered a small issue with the front right" of the Spaniard's car, which limited his running.
