Mexican GP FP3: George Russell leads the Mercedes duo in the Final Practice session

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton look in contention for pole position in Saturday’s qualifying. The Mercedes duo ran an upgraded car this weekend. The Mercedes pair had these upgrades in the United States Grand Prix weekend but said they didn’t have enough time to unlock the full potential of the upgrades.

Russell posted the fastest time of the weekend with 1:18.399. Max Verstappen was the third-fastest driver behind Hamilton. Verstappen is still a favourite for the Pole on Saturday, but he has his work cut out this weekend.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were 4th and 6th, respectively. Their fastest times were 0.7s and 0.9s slower than Russell’s. Hometown hero Sergio Perez was the 5th fastest. The Mexican receives a vast ovation whenever fans see his car on the track.

However, Perez seems to struggle to match the pace of his teammate and Mercedes. Lando Norris emerged the fastest in the midfield battle, ahead of Bottas, Tsunoda, and Albon, covering the top 10.

Mick Schumacher, fighting for his future in F1, had a moment on the track where he ruined his new soft tyres by having a spin and flat-spotting them.

Pierre Gasly also had a scary moment when he put his Alpha Tauri onto the grass but saved his car from damage.

Lance Stroll picked up a fine for speeding in the pitlane. Sebastian Vettel was 19th in FP3 after complaining about his Aston Martin car balance.

FP3 Classification