Source – Planetf1.com
Oscar Piastri of McLaren won the third free practice session for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Saturday. In a far more subdued effort, he was followed by teammate Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
A challenging Friday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez set an unpredictable stage for the final practice session of the Mexican Grand Prix weekend. The opening day of practice was marred by several red flags and a crucial Pirelli tyre test, keeping drivers from gaining as much track time as anticipated. The final one-hour session, however, gave teams one last shot to fine-tune their setups and push the limits before the high-stakes qualifying round.
Among the drivers returning in repaired cars was George Russell, whose Mercedes sustained significant damage in a dramatic crash during FP2. Determined to stay competitive, the Mercedes team worked overnight, even breaking the curfew to ensure that Russell’s car was back in prime condition. A new chassis was fitted, though Russell was fortunate to avoid power unit or gearbox damage, which allowed him to head back out without incurring penalties.
Another comeback story of the session was Alex Albon in the Williams, who returned to the track after a challenging FP1 incident involving Ferrari’s reserve driver, Ollie Bearman, which saw Albon hit the wall. Williams opted to install a fresh power unit, although Albon avoided a penalty since the replacement came from his existing allocation. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, had also faced setbacks in both FP1 and FP2, where he encountered continuous engine issues that were ultimately traced back to the air intake system. In response, Red Bull’s mechanics replaced Verstappen’s engine with an older, more reliable unit, setting him up for a less turbulent practice run.
When the session kicked off, both Russell and Verstappen were eager to make up for lost time. They headed out early and began trading fast laps on soft tyres, with Verstappen’s radio crackling with reports of “no rear grip” in slower corners. Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz claimed the top spot on the leaderboard with a smooth 1:17.447s lap, edging out his teammate Charles Leclerc by 0.169 seconds. McLaren’s Lando Norris and hometown favorite Sergio Perez followed closely, with the two Mercedes drivers, Russell and Lewis Hamilton, also posting competitive times.
As the final practice wore on, the focus shifted as the grid pushed harder on the soft compound tyres, and the benchmark time continued to drop. Leclerc, Sainz, and Verstappen each took turns leading the timesheets, until the McLaren duo launched a final assault in the closing minutes. Oscar Piastri powered through with a session-topping lap of 1:16.492s, placing McLaren firmly at the top. Norris wasn’t far behind, completing a 1-2 result for the team and underlining McLaren’s increasing competitiveness.
By the end, Piastri and Norris held onto their leading positions, fending off Sainz and Verstappen. Sainz finished third while Verstappen, despite his efforts, continued to grapple with grip issues and settled for fourth. Hamilton was fifth, surprised by the pace difference between his Mercedes and the McLarens ahead. Leclerc, unable to find the same gains as Sainz, dropped to sixth, with Yuki Tsunoda in seventh for Red Bull. Russell and Kevin Magnussen completed the top nine, with the latter two battling it out for track space in the session’s final minutes.
The top 10 rounded out with Liam Lawson in his Red Bull, closely followed by Albon. Valtteri Bottas in the lead Kick Sauber placed 12th, while Williams’ substitute driver Franco Colapinto slotted in ahead of Perez, whose difficulties continued on home turf. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll struggled to 15th and 17th respectively, with Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas between them. Alpine, facing a frustrating weekend, saw both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly near the back, flanking Zhou Guanyu’s Kick Sauber.
As the clock ticked down to qualifying, teams rushed to pore over their data from this fast-paced session, preparing for last-minute adjustments.
