Mexico FP3:
British Take over

It's Saturday morning in Mexico City with the teams still having 1 hour to fine-tune their setup going into qualifying. Lando Norris being the fastest man of the session with a 1.16.633, looking way more confident than yesterday. Teammate Piastri only managing 5th, almost six tenths behind his teammate. The Ferrari’s looking like worthy contenders going into qualifying, Lewis Hamilton finishing 2nd showing a very decent one-lap pace, seeking limits, and also going over them, finding the grass into turn 1 and later on also trying out the newest escape road at turn 4.George Russell made it a British 1-2-3 at the top, taking P3 for Mercedes and putting himself right in the mix for pole. Charles Leclerc followed closely behind in P4, giving Ferrari two cars in the top four and showing that the Ferrari’s can adapt to the high altitude of the circuit.

Max Verstappen, who topped FP2, couldn’t repeat the trick this morning. The Dutchman struggled with grip and balance, ending the session in 6th and still searching for a stable rear end. Not a disaster, but also not a calming thought going into qualifying. This especially at a track where the three-time champion usually thrives.

Further down the order, Kimi Antonelli had a very solid session, showing that they are setting the car up more towards Sunday than qualifying, carrying decent long run pace. Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso had a morning to forget slowest overall and although not wearing a mask, still having to wrestle with the car.

It will be interesting to see what qualifying will bring, with still some drivers not looking too confident having trouble with the thinner air making it difficult keeping the tires in the perfect window.