Oscar Piastri led a McLaren 1-2 in FP3 of F1 Mexico GP from Lando Norris, as Carlos Sainz was pushed to third after good pace early on.
Ahead of the FP3 in F1 Mexico GP, Mercedes and Red Bull broke curfew overnight to work on the cars of George Russell and Max Verstappen, respectively. The chassis for the Brit had to be changed after his FP2 crash but the power unit and gearbox were found to be okay.
Verstappen had his power unit changed but taken from the pool to avoid a grid penalty and it was a bit smoother with no major dramas. The FP3 was overall much better without any red flag stoppage as teams and drivers got to run a lot many laps.
There was a spin for Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson in the stadium section after riding the kerb but he managed to continue on. The order at the front saw McLaren take the charge with Oscar Piastri ending up quickest in FP3 of F1 Mexico GP with a 1m16.492s lap.
He led teammate Lando Norris and they both stretched out a good gap from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who dropped to third. Verstappen could complete a good haul of laps in fourth from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc dropped to sixth.
Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda did well in seventh from Mercedes’ George Russell, who had a lose mirror to be fixed in the middle of the session. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen was ninth after having to do another lap after he had a moment in the a stadium section.
His teammate had the same moment and couldn’t improve the second time to be 16th. The Top 10 was rounded out by Lawson ahead of Williams’ Alexander Albon, who like Russell and Verstappen, managed to complete a good haul of laps.
Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas continued his goodish run in 12th from the other Williams of Franco Colapinto. He led Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who couldn’t get a fast lap on his final attempt after a lock-up on the stadium section.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was 15th from Hulkenberg and the other Aston Martijn of Lance Stroll. Alpine dropped off with Esteban Ocon only 18th and Pierre Gasly 20th, behind Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu – which included a Turn 1 moment for Gasly.
Here’s what was said after Friday in F1 Mexico GP
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