The reigning world champion led the driver who will almost certainly succeed him this weekend in the final practice session for the Mexican Grand Prix.
A late flying lap put the McLaren driver ahead by the narrowest of margins. As the track gained grip slowly, Norris’s time was only two-tenths of a second quicker than yesterday’s best. Oscar Piastri was just under two-tenths of a second slower in the other McLaren.Charles Leclerc, who headed yesterday’s two practice sessions at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, produced the third fastest time. Following the disruption to his second session yesterday, Lewis Hamilton completed a productive hour of running, setting the sixth-fastest time.
Max Verstappen, who has collected a one-place grid penalty for qualifying, was fifth in his Red Bull. He complained about braking problems during the session and went off at turn four.
The two Mercedes drivers were separated by over half a second. George Russell was seventh, fractionally ahead of Hadjar. The Racing Bulls pair completed the top 10 and showed very strong one-lap pace.
Having been very pleased with his car on Friday, Pierre Gasly went off-track several times in the final session. He ended up 13th behind his team mate and Nico Hulkenberg. Gabriel Bortoleto’s challenging weekend in the other Audi continued as he failed to set a time. Home favourite Sergio Perez also failed to complete a timed lap as Cadillac are changing his power unit.
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2026 Mexican Grand Prix third practice result
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