Mexican Grand Prix – Free Practice 3 – Red Bull further extend their advantage

While Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen took turns at the top of the timesheets on Friday, will a third party take the lead during this final free practice session?

A very timid start to the session

The track being very dusty yesterday, the drivers are not in a hurry to start their rollout this time. It’s Yuki Tsunoda who kicks off at the sixth minute. The Japanese driver will have to start from the back of the grid on Sunday, just like George Russell, Lance Stroll, and possibly Lando Norris, who are also penalized. After twelve minutes of the session, the AlphaTauri driver is the only one to have set a time, at 1min20.922, on soft tires. Number 22 improves his time by more than a second a few moments later.

The top dogs are keeping people waiting

As the teams are slow to hit the track, we learn that Alpine will have to change Esteban Ocon’s engine. The Frenchman will join the other penalized drivers at the back of the grid on Sunday. After nearly twenty minutes, Lando Norris sets the second fastest time (over eight tenths behind Tsunoda) while the Red Bull drivers are still not settled in their cars. Kimi Räikkönen sets the best time right after, with 1min19.299, while Carlos Sainz slips in the dust. Only five drivers have set a time after 23 minutes of the session.

« The leaders are succeeding one another

The Mercedes cars take turns at the top of the timesheets a few moments later (Hamilton quickly beaten by Bottas) while Norris goes off at the first corner. It is then that the local competitor, Sergio Pérez, sets the fastest time in 1min18.625, beaten by the surprising Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in 1min18.213, halfway through the session. Ricciardo ranks second after benefiting from the slipstream of his teammate on the start/finish straight. At the same time, Bottas and Alonso lock up their tires at the first braking point. With 26 minutes left in the session, Max Verstappen takes the lead by clocking a 1min17.537 while Räikkönen keeps his Alfa Romeo in the top 10.

« A track that gains in grip

Bottas slots in between the two Red Bulls with just under twenty minutes left in the session. His replacement at Mercedes, George Russell, is stuck in his garage. Verstappen nails it with a time of 1:17.217, proving that he is the man to beat this weekend so far. Both Ferrari drivers make mistakes with fifteen minutes to go, while Hamilton, struggling, settles for third place almost seven tenths behind his title rival. Kimi Räikkönen finishes eighth, sliding around in the final sector with a time of 1:18.578, just ahead of his teammate Giovinazzi. Perez joins his teammate at the top of the timesheet. With ten minutes remaining, there are 55 milliseconds between the Red Bull drivers (still in favor of Verstappen).

Fernando Alonso, stuck in 18th position, is about to set a nice lap time before going off track at the start of the stadium. Ocon, on the other hand, is climbing up to a sad fifteenth place. Pérez ignites the crowd with a 1min17.024 while Hamilton seems desperate about the performance of the Red Bulls on the radio.

Sergio Pérez, therefore finishes this session on top. The Mexican will try everything to achieve a similar result in the qualifying session.

Here is the complete ranking of the session: