F1 | FP3 | Mexico City GP | Norris tops the timesheets in final Practice session - Motorsport

Spread the love

As the practice sessions wrap up with FP3, drivers and teams are getting their last chance to perfect their setup before heading into Qualifying for the F1 Mexico City GP. The Friday FP sessions saw Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen leading the pack, with Ferrari looking strong. Meanwhile, the world champion leader, Oscar Piastri, struggled to find pace.

Coming into the F1 Mexico City GP race weekend, the Drivers’ Championship gaps are closer than ever. With McLaren’s recent DNFs, Verstappen managed to cut down the gap to Lando Norris immensely. Nevertheless, the Briton took advantage of his teammate’s troubles, putting himself at only a 14-point difference from Piastri.

Green light at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez

The FP3 session of the F1 Mexico City GP started at 11:30 am local time. Given the two Friday sessions, the lack of grip should have improved slightly. Yet, drivers will face difficulties with the high elevation, which makes the brakes overheat more easily. Moreover, the downforce is significantly lower than at most circuits, prompting slides and lock-ups.

On a pretty dusty track, Lance Stroll was first to leave the pit lane, with Fernando Alonso right behind him for a scrub lap. However, the rest of the drivers decided to bide their time in their respective garages.

After the first 5 minutes of the hour-long session, Max Verstappen took to the track. On medium tyres, the Dutchman went on to set the benchmark with a 1:18.914. In his earliest run around the circuit, Lewis Hamilton was the first to go wide, at Turn 4. He then struggled with the slippery track, cutting through the corner onto the grass at Turn 1.

Fifteen minutes down

At this point in the session, the drivers on track had a mix of both Softs and Mediums. Managing to improve his lap, Verstappen dropped the time by almost nine tenths. Carlos Sainz put his Williams in the lead after his run on soft tyres allowed him to overtake Verstappen in the timing sheets.

The FP3 F1 Mexico City GP got properly underway after McLaren joined the action. With only Mercedes still without any laps run, Norris began his first attempt at a fast lap. With a lock-up in Turn 4, he dropped out of that fast. Hamilton proceeded to follow suit, going wide.

As Isack Hadjar complained about a McLaren that interrupted his lap, problems with traffic started at the Mexican circuit. With Sainz, Verstappen, and Norris leading the pack in the top 3, the Mercedes drivers finally joined the others. Despite a competitive lap by Leclerc, the Ferrari driver lost his advantage on Sainz in the third sector.

30 minutes down on the clock

With the track grip improving by the minute, Lando Norris overtook Sainz in the leaderboard, the Spaniard at a +0.013 disadvantage. Oscar Piastri, however, continued his struggles this session as his flying lap only got him up to P8. Lance Stroll and George Russell were both spotted on the radio, unable to warm up the tyres and avoid the sliding.

Both Williams’ were up in the top 5 at this stage, looking competitive this weekend. Russell managed to match Carlos Sainz’s time perfectly after finding some grip. Most of the field was at less than five-tenths between one another. Charles Leclerc, the leader of FP1, set a purple second sector, which brought him to P5.

As Hadjar set a dominant time, the top 6 ended up separated by six hundredths of a second. This moment showed just how fierce the teams are looking this race weekend. Showing pace, Kimi Antonelli had just set a purple sector before losing balance and going wide in Turn 12.

Final 20 minutes of FP3

George Russell, on Mediums, managed to claim the lead of the FP3 F1 Mexico City GP session, 1:17.892. The last 20 minutes of the Free Practice started off slow, as drivers hit the garages before a later push. Almost setting the fastest lap of the session, Alex Albon had a lock-up at Turn 13, ruining two purple sectors by running wide.

Despite everyone sliding around in their battle for grip, Isack Hadjar put his Racing Bulls in the lead by almost a half-second advantage over Russell. As drivers switched out to Softs, Oscar Piastri set a late benchmark, 1:17.315. Leclerc did not let the Australian enjoy his recovery, overtaking by only one hundredth of a second.

On a flying lap, Max Verstappen attempted to regain the lead of the session, yet Hamilton took that from him as he dropped the timing sheet to the 1:16 mark, 1:16.978. Nevertheless, going fastest in all three sectors, Lando Norris put everything together for a 1:16.633. With pressure running high, both Williams’ drivers had issues with lock-ups.

Last moments on track before the session’s end

Even Piastri seemed to regain his confidence, moving up to P4. With more struggles on the radio for Williams, Albon complained of no power in his lap. Coming up to P6, Verstappen improved his personal times. Yet, the Red Bull driver had problems with the lack of grip in his run.

Ending the FP3 session of the F1 Mexico City GP on a high note, Lando Norris proved to be the fastest after that dominant performance. Following behind, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, ex-teammates, closed off the top 3. With Leclerc in P4, the Ferrari lineup looked quite strong.

Fernando Alonso did not get a final run in thanks to some car issues.