Max Verstappen maintained his lead in F3’s F1 Mexican Grand Prix, just behind Alexander Albon, with Sergio Perez in third.
Things were largely smooth sailing in FP3 of the F1 Mexican Grand Prix, but continued to slip for most drivers. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen led the session for the third time in a row with a lap time of 1 minute 17.887 seconds, but was only 0.070 seconds ahead of Williams.
Similar to FP1, Alexander Albon was close behind in second place with just 0.095 seconds difference, while Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finished third. Mercedes driver George Russell had a better run and he finished 4th, albeit briefly during the session.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished fifth on a second fast lap after his first lap was slightly marred by a moment at Turn 12. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas continued his good performance with a sixth place ahead of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda after showing improvement in the second half.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was eighth, ahead of another AlphaTauri in Daniel Ricciardo, and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was 10th, with a fast lap at Turn 12. Despite Logan being behind Albon in his other Williams, he finished well in 11th place.
Even Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu did well in 12th place, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Leclerc suffered his second death when his final run was interrupted by Haas’s Kevin Magnussen. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll finished 14th, ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
The Canadian was known to hinder Sainz with his fast laps, but he had a moment to fight him off. The Spaniard spun on a fast lap and was only in 15th place, ahead of Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg and another Aston Martin in Fernando Alonso.
The Spaniard also slumped during a difficult period as Alpine gave way, with Pierre Gasly in 18th and Esteban Ocon in 20th. Both had their moments, the former early in the session and the latter late in the session.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen was hampered by damage to his left rear wheel during his first stint and finished 19th. He only had one set left, so the team was soft on his compound and he was only able to complete one stint.
Here’s what was said after Friday’s F1 Mexican Grand Prix
