Grand Prix

F1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2025: Free Practice 3 Results And Report As Lando Norris Throws Down Qualifying Gauntlet

Check out the full report and results from the final practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Ewan Gale|
McLaren Racing

Lando Norris threw down a major marker to his Formula 1 championship rivals ahead of Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying with a stunning benchmark time in final practice.

The McLaren driver was 0.345s faster than anyone else after setting a time of a 1:16.633s, with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton second.

George Russell was a further two-tenths adrift in third with Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen some six-tenths off the pace.

It was a slow start to the session with drivers far from rushing out onto the track — epitomized by a number only getting suited up some eight minutes into the hour.

With early running dominated by data gathering, it was clear that grip was at a premium on the medium tires, with both Norris and Lewis Hamilton struggling to get their cars stopped at Turn 4.

The most notable bit of running in the opening two-thirds of the session was that Red Bull loaded Verstappen up with fuel to try and solve its long-run pace after the Dutchman complained about performance after Friday's practice outings.

When the softs did go on for the all-important qualifying simulations, Norris was in blistering form to put down his marker for qualifying.

Hamilton was the only driver close to bridging the gap to his compatriot as Russell made it a British one-two-three.

Lewis Hamilton, Mexico FP2, Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari

Charles Leclerc underlined Ferrari's promise with fourth ahead of Piastri, who still seems to be driving with unease, and Verstappen sixth, setting his best lap with the final flier of the session.

Kimi Antonelli was seventh for Mercedes ahead of Isack Hadjar, who was unhappy on multiple occasions with traffic issues, and Yuki Tsunoda who was much closer to teammate Verstappen.

Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top 10 for Sauber.

Fernando Alonso missed out on qualifying sim runs altogether as his Aston Martin went on the high-jacks. An issue with the Spaniards car was discovered during a set-up tweak between medium and soft-tire runs and left the two-time champion watching on from the garage.

Alex Albon had a nightmare hour on track despite being able to complete the session. The Williams driver was unable to set a representative lap as braking issues plagued his efforts — a number of lock-ups thwarting his flying lap attempts.

Albon then complained in the closing stages that he felt a loss of power in his power unit.

F1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2025: FP3 results

Position / Driver / Team

Gap [s]

1. Lando Norris / McLaren

1:16.633

2. Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari

+0.345

3. George Russell / Mercedes

+0.512

4. Charles Leclerc / Ferrari

+0.566

5. Oscar Piastri / McLaren

+0.599

6. Max Verstappen / Red Bull

+0.609

7. Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes

+0.620

8. Isack Hadjar / Racing Bulls

+0.763

9. Yuki Tsunoda / Red Bull

+0.782

10. Gabriel Bortoleto / Sauber

+0.893

11. Liam Lawson / Racing Bulls

+0.919

12. Esteban Ocon / Haas

+0.941

13. Lance Stroll / Aston Martin

+0.965

14. Nico Hulkenberg / Sauber

+1.031

15. Carlos Sainz / Williams

+1.168

16. Alex Albon / Williams

+1.361

17. Oliver Bearman / Haas

+1.413

18. Pierre Gasly / Alpine

+1.779

19. Franco Colapinto / Alpine

+1.948

20. Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin

+1.978

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Ewan Gale
EWAN GALE

Ewan is a motorsport journalist covering F1 for Grand Prix On SI. Having been educated at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix, and subsequently graduating from university with a sports journalism degree, Ewan made a move into F1 in 2021. Ewan joins after a stint with Autosport as an editor, having written for a number of outlets including RacingNews365 and GPFans, during which time he has covered grand prix and car launches as an accredited member of the media.

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