Lando Norris set a commanding pace in the final practice session for the Mexico City Grand Prix, putting his McLaren more than three-tenths of a second clear of the field. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished second, with his teammate George Russell securing the third-fastest time.
Norris clocked his benchmark lap of 1:16.633s in the final ten minutes of the session at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Championship leader Max Verstappen finished sixth, just behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in fifth.
Verstappen, who had expressed dissatisfaction with his race pace on Friday, was the first to set a time, though the track remained quiet for the opening ten minutes. Once the session was fully underway, several drivers tested the limits of the circuit. Hamilton ran wide at Turn 4 before taking to the grass at Turn 1 on a subsequent attempt.
Early on, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz set the pace on soft tires with a 1:18.028s, a time that stood as the benchmark through the session’s midpoint. As the track became busier, drivers struggled with traffic on the short 2.67-mile layout, with Norris also running deep at Turn 4 on his initial flying lap.
Switching focus, several teams began race simulations on medium tires. Russell reported that his car was “sliding all over the place,” while Verstappen conducted a long run. As the session entered its final 20 minutes, the focus shifted to qualifying simulations on soft tires.
The leaderboard changed rapidly in the closing stages. Russell was the first to break the 1:18s barrier before being eclipsed by Piastri and then Charles Leclerc. With minutes remaining, Hamilton briefly went fastest with the weekend’s first sub-1:17s lap, posting a 1:16.978s. However, Norris delivered his decisive lap shortly after, a time that would remain unbeaten.
Behind the top three, Leclerc finished fourth, ahead of Piastri and Verstappen. The Red Bull driver complained of a lack of grip from both the front and rear of his car. The top ten was rounded out by Alex Albon, Yuki Tsunoda, Valtteri Bottas, and Sergio Pérez.
Further down the order, Fernando Alonso’s session was cut short, with Aston Martin discovering an issue with the front right of his car, limiting him to 20th place. All teams will now prepare for the crucial qualifying session later today.
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