Advantage McLaren as Red Bull issues continue in crucial Mexican GP FP3

It is advantage McLaren ahead of qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix as Oscar Piastri led Lando Norris in final practice. 

Piastri topped the hour-long session after setting a 1:16.492s, whilst Norris was 0.059s adrift in second. The Woking-based team appear to be the team to beat, as Carlos Sainz was three-tenths adrift in third. 

After a turbulent Friday, Red Bull’s issues continued in Saturday’s opening session, as Max Verstappen was fourth quickest and half-a-second slower than Piastri.

However, the reigning world champion and team-mate Sergio Perez encountered grip problems throughout the session, which Verstappen complained about over the radio. 

“Ah, this doesn’t **** work,” reported Verstappen over the radio. “There’s no grip, front and rear.” Perez was only P14 and 1.2s adrift in front of his home fans. 

Opening minutes

After second practice on Friday afternoon was dedicated to testing Pirelli’s tyres for next season, the opening session on Saturday was seen as crucial by all the teams. 

None more so than for Williams and Mercedes, who both had huge wrecks to repair overnight following crashes for Alex Albon and George Russell, respectively. Albon’s car was fitted with a new gearbox and engine, whilst Russell’s W15 had a new chassis. 

Very few drivers ventured out onto the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in the opening minutes, with only Verstappen and Pierre Gasly setting times in the first seven minutes.

Third practice was also important for Verstappen and Red Bull after the Milton Keynes-based team had to use parts in the Dutchman’s engine pool to repair an issue from Friday. 

The circuit remained fairly empty with 50 minutes remaining, as Russell posted a 1:18.284s on a set of soft tyres to become the early pacesetter. Russell sat just 0.045s ahead of Verstappen, whilst Lewis Hamilton was seven-tenths adrift. 

Lap times started to tumble 15 minutes into the session when most drivers were then out on the circuit, with both Ferraris jumping to the top of the timesheets ahead of Hamilton, following an improved lap time. 

On the other side of the Mercedes garage, Russell pitted for a quick repair on a loose wing mirror. 

The first yellow flag of the session was waved with 40 minutes to go after Liam Lawson had a slow-speed spin in the Foro Sol stadium section, but safely avoided all barriers and continued on his way.

Second half

Long soft tyre runs were a priority for the big teams in the first half of the session, with the Ferraris looking excellent. Sainz and Leclerc exchanged the fastest lap as FP3 reached its halfway mark, whilst Norris was four-tenths adrift in third. 

Interestingly, both Ferraris continued to find pace deep into its soft tyre runs, highlighting how much the track continued to evolve. The circuit became relatively calm just past the 30-minute mark, as the majority of the drivers returned to their garages. 

Ferrari remained the dominant outfit when Leclerc and Sainz rejoined the circuit, with both having set personal bests to remain in first and second. 

With 20 minutes remaining, Yuki Tsunoda was the closest to the Ferrari duo, although still five-tenths adrift. However, the RB driver was on the medium compound, compared to the Ferraris on softs. 

Times tumbled as final practice approached the last 15 minutes, with Verstappen three-tenths faster than Sainz to move to the top of the timesheets. The circuit was suddenly alive with the sound of rapid lap times, as Norris went quickest by nearly half a second. 

Qualifying simulations were in action, although Russell went an entire second slower than Norris. The McLaren driver’s time at the top was short-lived, as Piastri went fastest with 13 minutes remaining. 

Interestingly, Sainz and Leclerc failed to topple the McLaren drivers on its first real soft tyre push lap. Sainz was three-tenths adrift in third, whilst Leclerc was seventh and 0.740s slower than Piastri. 

Ultimately, nobody could topple Piastri, whilst Norris, Sainz, Verstappen and Hamilton completed the top five.