Lando Norris beats Kimi Antonelli to top Mexico final practice
Norris pips Antonelli by 0.001 seconds in third practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Lando Norris topped final practice at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, edging Kimi Antonelli by 0.001 seconds ahead of qualifying for the Mexico Grand Prix.
Key takeaways
- Lando Norris topped final practice at the Mexico Grand Prix
- Norris beat Kimi Antonelli by 0.001 seconds
- Charles Leclerc finished third, 0.117 seconds behind
- Qualifying follows the practice session
001 seconds at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Autosport reported. The session took place ahead of qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix. Norris headed into qualifying with the fastest time of the weekend, Autosport said. 117 seconds behind, closely followed by Oscar Piastri.
351 seconds off the pace.
Reigning world champion Norris briefly claimed top with a 1m17.873s ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri and George Russell, who lamented a lack of grip through the tricky Turn 12 right-hander entering the Foro Sol stadium.
601s lap, but not before voicing his frustration at Max Verstappen's impeding in Turn 1. Antonelli then went purple in sector one on his next flyer but ultimately didn't improve. 001s to head into qualifying with the fastest time of the weekend.
Norris dipped just 0.001s under Antonelli's initial benchmark as all four top teams looked in the mix on the tricky high-altitude circuit, with several midfield running into power unit trouble. A quiet opening phase saw Ryo Hirakawa get a lot of airtime in the Haas. Having covered FP1, the Toyota-backed driver returned to the Haas as a substitute for Esteban Ocon for the remainder of the Mexico weekend.
While 32-year-old debutant Hirakawa got airtime in the Haas at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, championship leader Antonelli and Charles Leclerc traded blows during the opening stages of the session as all frontrunners were running medium tyres. 268s.
162s lap to lead the medium-tyre runs that dominated the first half of practice, followed by Leclerc and Antonelli as both Red Bull and McLaren looked a clear step behind.
Leclerc found a late improvement with a rapid first sector but stayed in third, 0.117s behind, closely followed by Piastri. Verstappen was fifth, 0.351s behind as he struggled with his brakes. An untidy third sector left Hamilton over four tenths adrift in sixth, followed by Russell and Hadjar.
Formula 1 qualifying follows the final practice session at the Mexico Grand Prix.
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