McLaren surge ahead as grip issues and reliability troubles dominate FP3
The high altitude of Mexico City made its presence felt once again in the final practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Lando Norris led the way for McLaren in FP3, setting a commanding benchmark of 1:16.633, while others battled unpredictable grip, overheating tyres, and mechanical setbacks.
Early Running
Aston Martin were the first to head out, with the drivers taking to the track to scrub sets of tyres; mediums for Alonso and hards for Stroll initially, before switching compounds. Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda were running different rear wing configurations.
Lewis Hamilton soon joined the action but struggled to find grip on the mediums, locking up twice and aborting his laps.
Carlos Sainz put Williams on top of the timesheets with a 1:18.028, narrowly ahead of Verstappen.
Kimi Antonelli and George Russell remained in the Mercedes garage during the first third of the session, confident after a strong Friday.
Mid-Session Chaos and Traffic
Norris suffered a brief smoky moment from the rear of his McLaren before recovering. Hamilton went off at Turn 4, narrowly avoiding contact with the McLaren. Traffic became a growing problem, with Isack Hadjar angrily complaining over the radio.
By the halfway mark, Sainz, Verstappen, and Russell were split by just thousandths of a second. The top six were covered by 0.065s across six different teams.
Russell then went fastest with a 1:17.892 on mediums, before attention turned to soft-tyre runs as the final 20 minutes approached.
Soft Runs Shake Up the Order
Albon, pushing on his second set, locked up twice in the same corner and aborted his run, while Oscar Piastri headed out for a much-needed lap after a difficult weekend so far. He briefly went fastest before being immediately displaced by Charles Leclerc, and then by Kimi Antonelli.
Then came Lewis Hamilton, who delivered a strong lap to go top by nearly three-tenths, briefly holding the fastest time of the session. Lando Norris then went purple in all three sectors to reclaim the top spot with a 1:16.633, 0.345s clear of Hamilton and half a second faster than Russell in third.
Piastri improved to fourth but still trailed his teammate by almost seven-tenths.
Late Issues in FP3
Sainz and Albon both ran off the track, the Williams appearing twitchy after setup changes. Albon then reported a power issue, momentarily slowing before recovering.
At Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso’s session ended prematurely after a front-right issue was discovered in the garage. The team later confirmed he would not return to the track.
What It Means for Qualifying
McLaren appear back in control after a subdued Friday, with Norris extracting supreme pace in FP3 despite the unpredictable grip levels. Hamilton’s Ferrari looked sharp, while Antonelli’s consistency continues to impress. Verstappen, down in fourth after a compromised lap, remains a major threat for pole given Red Bull’s strong middle-sector pace.
With track evolution high and grip still scarce, qualifying at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is set to be a high-stakes shootout.
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