Lando Norris topped FP3 at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, beating Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli by just 0.001 seconds in an exceptionally close final practice session. Charles Leclerc recovered to third place for Ferrari, although the SF-26 once again struggled on soft tyres after dominating the timesheets on the medium compound. Lewis Hamilton finished sixth, leaving the Maranello team with familiar questions to answer ahead of qualifying.
The final hour of practice confirmed how closely matched the leading teams remain. McLaren showed renewed competitiveness, while Ferrari lost the advantage it had enjoyed on Friday as its qualifying simulations were compromised by soft-tyre handling difficulties. Several drivers struggled for grip at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, situated approximately 2,200 metres above sea level, leaving plenty of uncertainty ahead of the session that will determine the starting grid.
Mexico GP FP3 begins with technical problems for Gabriel Bortoleto and Fernando Alonso
Conditions were sunny in Mexico City, with the air temperature at 22°C and the track surface measuring 44°C at the start of the session. Ryo Hirakawa was immediately on track for Haas, needing to accumulate mileage following the much-discussed, last-minute replacement of Esteban Ocon.
The leading teams took a more relaxed approach during the opening ten minutes, leaving the circuit largely to Alpine, Nico Hülkenberg’s Audi and the Japanese Haas driver. Gabriel Bortoleto was also expected to take part, but a technical problem immediately affected his car, producing a noticeable cloud of white smoke. The Brazilian had already experienced serious difficulties in FP2 on Friday after completing no running in FP1.
Nico Hülkenberg set the early benchmark with a 1:19.874 on soft tyres, while both Alpine cars were running on mediums. Technical trouble also affected Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin shortly after the first ten minutes, although the Spanish driver was able to return to the circuit following a brief stop in the garage.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli sets the early pace as Ferrari joins the action
McLaren and Mercedes were the first leading teams to leave their garages. Ferrari, Red Bull and Williams had yet to appear after 15 minutes, allowing their rivals to establish the initial reference times.
Running on medium tyres, Andrea Kimi Antonelli immediately recorded a 1:18.754, less than a second away from the benchmark Charles Leclerc had established during Friday’s Mexico Grand Prix practice sessions. George Russell followed approximately two tenths behind, with Oscar Piastri another tenth further back on the same compound.
Grip remained difficult to judge. Lando Norris made a mistake through the Snake section, and Charles Leclerc subsequently experienced a similar moment. Lewis Hamilton also encountered problems on his opening attempt, running wide at the entrance to the stadium section. With 40 minutes remaining, the Red Bull drivers finally joined the action.
Charles Leclerc quickly recovered from his initial mistake, moving to the top of the timesheets with an advantage of 0.034 seconds over Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Lando Norris climbed to third, less than two tenths behind the leading Ferrari, as lap times continued to improve across the front-running teams.
Ferrari takes control of Mexico FP3 on medium tyres
The medium compound allowed drivers to complete several flying laps, and the competitive order continued to evolve with each attempt. By the halfway point, Ferrari was demonstrating particularly encouraging performance, with Lewis Hamilton moving ahead of Charles Leclerc by just 0.023 seconds.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli followed approximately a quarter of a second behind the leading Ferrari, while Red Bull appeared to be experiencing difficulties. Isack Hadjar made his frustration clear over team radio, describing his car as the “worst car I’ve ever driven”. The French driver subsequently found an improvement and climbed to fourth position.
Charles Leclerc then regained first place, edging Lewis Hamilton by just 0.010 seconds. Ferrari’s two SF-26 cars therefore occupied the top two positions during the medium-tyre running, reinforcing the positive signs seen earlier in the weekend.
However, the unusual conditions in Mexico remained an important factor. The circuit’s low-grip characteristics had already been identified as a significant challenge for the Italian team, despite the encouraging performance of Ferrari’s recent SF-26 upgrades.
Further technical problems disrupt Aston Martin, Audi and Cadillac
Elsewhere, Aston Martin continued to experience difficulties. With 20 minutes remaining, Lance Stroll was called back to the garage as a precaution, adding to the team’s earlier interruption involving Fernando Alonso.
Sergio Perez had still not completed a lap, with Cadillac replacing the power unit in his car. Gabriel Bortoleto also remained in the garage following his problem at the beginning of the session, and Audi confirmed that an engine replacement would be necessary.
These interruptions contrasted with the increasingly intense activity among the leading teams, which were now preparing to switch to soft tyres for their final qualifying simulations.
Lando Norris and Andrea Kimi Antonelli fight for FP3 lead as Ferrari struggles on soft tyres
The final third of the session brought the first soft-tyre runs from the leading contenders, dramatically changing the order. Andrea Kimi Antonelli produced an excellent middle sector to move into first place, opening a gap of approximately two tenths over Lando Norris and three tenths over Max Verstappen.
Ferrari, meanwhile, encountered its familiar difficulties on the soft compound. Charles Leclerc abandoned his first attempt before improving his previous time by just 0.001 seconds, with the SF-26 displaying significant oversteer. The contrast with the car’s earlier medium-tyre performance was particularly noticeable.
After several further laps, Charles Leclerc managed to climb to second position, approximately 0.15 seconds behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli and narrowly ahead of the two McLaren drivers. The Monegasque was gradually finding more performance, although the car remained demanding to drive.
Lewis Hamilton was also struggling. The seven-time world champion remained approximately four tenths away from the benchmark and experienced a dangerous moment of oversteer through the final corner. Ferrari’s difficulties on soft tyres once again raised questions about its ability to reproduce its practice pace during qualifying.
The problems were particularly significant given the cooling and grip challenges Ferrari had anticipated for the Mexico Grand Prix. Although both cars had been competitive on mediums, extracting the maximum performance from the soft compound proved considerably more complicated.
Mexico GP FP3 results: Lando Norris beats Andrea Kimi Antonelli by 0.001 seconds
With only a few minutes remaining, Lando Norris delivered the decisive lap, putting his McLaren just 0.001 seconds ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The extraordinarily small margin highlighted the closely contested battle at the front of the field heading into qualifying.
Charles Leclerc continued to encounter difficulties through the middle sector on soft tyres, but appeared to find a more satisfactory compromise as the session progressed. He eventually secured third place, just over a tenth behind the leading pair.
Lewis Hamilton remained further back in sixth, while Red Bull and George Russell also failed to impress during the closing stages. Several leading teams therefore approached qualifying with unanswered questions about their performance.
The final top ten consisted of Lando Norris, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad.
Ferrari faces a familiar qualifying challenge in Mexico
The main concern for Ferrari is the difference between its competitiveness on medium tyres and its performance on softs. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were able to lead the session on mediums, but neither could reproduce that advantage consistently during the final qualifying simulations.
The performance differences observed throughout practice can be explored through the F1 practice and long-run analysis, which provides further comparisons of lap times, tyre compounds and practice-session performance.
With Lando Norris and Andrea Kimi Antonelli separated by the smallest possible margin on the timing screens, the battle for pole position remains finely balanced. Charles Leclerc has demonstrated that Ferrari can remain close to the leaders, but the SF-26’s soft-tyre behaviour continues to present a challenge. Lewis Hamilton also needs to find more performance after another difficult qualifying simulation.
The decisive question is whether Ferrari can overcome those handling difficulties when the drivers return to the track for the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying session, with the grid still wide open after an exceptionally close final practice.
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