Norris sets the pace in Mexico City's FP3
For the final practice session in the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, it was McLaren's Lando Norris who set the pace with Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc in second and third. With the smallest of margins between them, it was a very close fight between the top four teams which can be expected to carry over to the remainder of the weekend.
Within the opening five minutes of the session, there were only four drivers on-track including Alpine's Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly along with Nico Hülkenberg and new-comer Ryo Hirakawa. Hülkenberg, on the soft compound tyre, set a 1:20.572 however Audi revealed that their other challenger with Gabriel Bortoleto would remain in the garage for at least 20 minutes.
Gasly, despite impressive times, struggled with track limits as he had multiple laps deleted in the opening 10 minutes. The Cadillac pair of hometown hero Sergio Pérez and Valterri Bottas along with Aston Martin's Lance Stroll joined the four drivers on-track.
A brief yellow flag was waved as Fernando Alonso went off-track and revealed possible engine problems however he continued with his run plan. To beat Hülkenberg's time which stood for 15 minutes, Gasly set a 1:19.304 on medium tyres.
However, all the times were proved lacking as Antonelli came onto the track to set a 1:18.754 on medium tyres to give the first representative time from a front-running team. Further down the grid, with changes made after reporting some issues, Alonso was 1.144s off the pace, proving that Aston Martin are yet to establish the consistency that they are seeking.
In the midfield battle, things were looking incredibly optimistic for Racing Bulls as Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson slotted into third and fourth at the 40 minute mark. Racing Bulls have had an excellent track record at this circuit in the past and both drivers will be looking to extend their lead in the Constructors' championship standings. For Lawson in particular, a good weekend here may be crucial for his hopes to retain his seat next season.
Back on-track, George Russell went 0.228s off his teammate to jump up into second on a weekend where his championship bid, and the overall title fight, could come to an end. For his former teammate Hamilton, he could only manage third at this stage with a slight margin of 0.252s to Antonelli ahead.
As has been the case for much of the weekend in the fight between Mercedes and Ferrari, Leclerc passed Antonelli's time with a 1:18.720 on medium tyres. Meanwhile, Norris went third fastest with a gap of 0.197s to the pace-setters. Representing Red Bull, who are locked in a tight championship battle with McLaren, was Hadjar who could only manage seventh at this stage with a gap of 0.759 to the lead car.
At the 35 minute mark, there was a rush of drivers setting laps on the medium compound tyre with Antonelli as the fastest of the lot with a 1:18.658. Verstappen, who had much less running compared to the other front-runners, passed the others into third with a gap of only 0.146s ahead. However, both Antonelli and Verstappen were bested with Hamilton setting a 1:18.268 to grab the top spot. To further mix up the order, Piastri slotted into second with a gap of 0.307s.
At the back of the grid, Sainz jumped to 16th with a 1.856s gap to Hamilton at the front as Williams struggles in 2026 continued. While Aston Martin have hoped to reach Q2 this weekend, the Grove-based team have been forced to be more realistic about their expectations. In the meantime, Sainz's former teammate Leclerc set a new fastest time of 1:18.185.
At the halfway mark, all but six cars were on-track as they prepared for qualifying simulation laps. In the pit-lane, McLaren were making changes to both cars as Norris had adjustments made to his rear wing suspension while Oscar Piastri had a changed front-wing. Meanwhile on-track, Hamilton briefly went to the top before Leclerc went 0.010s faster; Ferrari continued to live upto their reputation as favourites for the race win this weekend.
The adjustments made to both McLaren cars paid off as Norris and Piastri moved into fourth and fifth respectively. With 25 minutes on the clock, the top four constructors in the championship occupied the top eight spots in the timing sheets with the Ferrari still leading the pack with an impressive demonstration of pace.
Verstappen, after a late start to the season, went back into the garage for some potential issues to his engine which were soon rectified. However, things were less than ideal for his former teammate Pérez who became relegated to the garage after only a brief appearance on-track.
With 20 minutes remaining, Bortoleto was yet to record a lap-time and Stroll was also called into the pit-lane to deal with an issue. As the other drivers in the top eight went back into the garage, Verstappen caught up on data collection and continued his run planning, set a 1:18.683 to go seventh fastest and remain behind his teammate.
As the first front-runner to try the soft tyres and set a qualifying simulation lap, Russell went to the top of the timesheets with a 1:18.107. Following closely behind was Norris who beat Russell's time with a considerable margin of 0.234s. However, all attempts proved short compared to Antonelli who set a 1:17.601 as the first driver to set a time within the 1:17s during the session.
Within the final 10 minutes of the session, Verstappen jumped to third place and 0.350s off Antonelli at the front. Although Norris stayed in second place, he reduced the gap to 0.166s to the pace-setter ahead. In the pit-lane, Stroll and Bottas remained in their garages with both drivers unlikely to
Piastri, who has struggled over the course of this season, moved within 0.194s of the Mercedes driver at the front while Hadjar struggled with grip on his qualifying simulation laps. Crossing the line, Hadjar finished in eighth to suggest that Red Bull perhaps have some issues to contend with this weekend.
Although Leclerc jumped into second, Hamilton's struggles continued with the Monagasque less than two-tenths off the pace. Hamilton in sixth, however, had almost half a second between himself and Antonelli.
In the closing stages of FP3, there was a flurry of laps including Norris going fastest with a 1:17.600, a margin of 0.001s to Antonelli. None of the drivers behind could improve on the reigning world champion's time leaving him as the fastest car on track as it had been 12 months prior.
Looking Ahead
Up next is the all-important hour of qualifying where all 22 drivers will try their luck to take pole position. Will Ferrari beat out the likes of Mercedes and McLaren or will there be a surprise pole-sitter? Only time will tell.
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