Norris lays down a marker as Hamilton chases in scrappy, slippery FP3 in Mexico City
Lando Norris ended final practice in Mexico looking like a driver who’s had this place figured out for years. The McLaren man punched in a 1:16.633 late on to clear Lewis Hamilton by three-tenths, as everyone wrestled with paper-thin grip and braking zones that felt like guesses rather than references.
It was the sort of session that flatters rhythm and punishes hesitation. Lock-ups were everywhere; the stadium groaned more than once as drivers tortured front tyres into flat spots. Max Verstappen’s Friday speed went walkabout and the title fight’s other pillar, Oscar Piastri, never quite looked as dialled-in as his teammate. When the dust settled, Norris on top, Hamilton next, George Russell third, and a very tightly packed chase group behind them told the story.
McLaren played it neatly. Early laps were exploratory — Norris even skated wide at Turn 4 and forced Hamilton into the escape road behind him — but when it mattered, the orange car hooked up. Norris’s best lap underlined a trend here: when the track finally comes in, the brave cash in. Piastri needed a couple of cool-downs before a tidy response hauled him to fifth, still six-tenths off Norris.
Ferrari’s Hamilton looked feisty even while fighting the brakes. An early snatch into Turn 1 put a bruise on his front-right, then a trip through the run-off at Turn 4 followed, but when he found temperature and trust he delivered a 1:16.978 to hold P2. Charles Leclerc slotted fourth, the Scuderia split by Russell’s Mercedes in third.
Up front on Friday, Verstappen arrived early for FP3 with flo-vis paint streaking the Red Bull’s rear wing — a different spec to teammate Yuki Tsunoda — and a firm need for answers. He found some but not enough. Max complained of grip again and ended up sixth, a tenth shy of Piastri and only a breath ahead of Kimi Antonelli, who banked another neat, grown-up session in seventh for Mercedes.
The early minutes were procedural: Aston Martin first out to scrub softs, then everyone else joined. The sprinkling of laps before half-distance hinted at a classic Mexico pile-up of times — five drivers from five teams split by 0.06s at one stage — and then the quali simulations began. Isack Hadjar briefly went top for Racing Bulls with a 1:17.396 before the bigger hitters turned up the wick: Piastri nipped ahead, Leclerc nicked it back, Antonelli edged that, Verstappen threatened, Hamilton reset the bar — and then Norris smashed it.
There were headaches. Aston Martin parked Fernando Alonso after discovering a front-right issue the team didn’t expect to fix before the flag. Alex Albon had already treated the Foro Sol to an eye-watering lock-up and later radioed a Mercedes power unit concern. And while Carlos Sainz had flashed early pace in the Williams, he slipped to 15th as the session ran away from Grove in the switch to quali sims.
Still, the midfield teased mischief. Hadjar backed up his headline stint with P8, Tsunoda tucked in two tenths behind Verstappen, and Gabriel Bortoleto continued his steady, no-fuss progress with P10 for Sauber. Behind them, Liam Lawson (11th) and Esteban Ocon (12th) kept the front pack honest, and Oliver Bearman put a Haas within striking distance in 17th despite a messy run.
Altitude will always make Mexico strange. Engines sing, turbos earn their dinner, brakes beg for mercy, and mechanical grip runs the show. On that score, McLaren look calmest heading into qualifying. Hamilton’s Ferrari has one-lap bite, Russell’s Mercedes is alive in the cool moments, and Red Bull — unusually — feel like they’re the ones chasing balance, not fine-tuning it.
Qualifying could be rowdy. If Turn 1 remains a trap and the wind picks up through the stadium, we’re a lock-up away from chaos. But on raw speed? Norris owns the morning. Now he has to bottle it.
Mexico City GP – Free Practice 3 classification
1. Lando Norris, McLaren, 1:16.633
2. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, 1:16.978
3. George Russell, Mercedes, 1:17.145
4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 1:17.199
5. Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 1:17.232
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:17.242
7. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, 1:17.253
8. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls, 1:17.396
9. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull, 1:17.415
10. Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber, 1:17.526
11. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls, 1:17.552
12. Esteban Ocon, Haas, 1:17.574
13. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 1:17.598
14. Nico Hülkenberg, Sauber, 1:17.664
15. Carlos Sainz, Williams, 1:17.801
16. Alex Albon, Williams, 1:17.994
17. Oliver Bearman, Haas, 1:18.046
18. Pierre Gasly, Alpine, 1:18.412
19. Franco Colapinto, Alpine, 1:18.581
20. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 1:18.611
Key notes
– Aston Martin benched Alonso with a front-right issue late on.
– Red Bull split rear wing specs between Verstappen and Tsunoda; Max still chasing grip.
– Multiple heavy lock-ups underline a treacherous Turn 1/Turn 4 combo; expect tyre management to be decisive in qualifying.
