Lando Norris pips Kimi Antonelli by 0.001s in final Mexico GP practice

Lando Norris narrowly edged Formula 1 champion-in-waiting Andrea Kimi Antonelli to the fastest time in final practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix. 

McLaren’s reigning world champion Norris was just 0.001 seconds quicker than Antonelli in FP3 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on the weekend Mercedes driver can clinch his first F1 world title. 

Antonelli will be crowned F1’s youngest-ever world champion if he finishes inside the top-nine on Sunday, even if his nearest rival and Mercedes team-mate George Russell wins. 

After topping both practice sessions on Friday, Charles Leclerc was third-fastest in the third and final hour of running ahead of qualifying, with the Monegasque 0.117s off the pace. 

Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix: Full final practice results

Ferrari looked extremely competitive on the medium tyres as Leclerc and team-mate Lewis Hamilton traded fastest times, but appeared to struggle when they switched onto softs. 

Leclerc needed several push laps to produce his best lap time, while Hamilton was only sixth and nearly half a second adrift after having a big slide coming out of the final corner on his quickest effort. 

Oscar Piastri was fourth in the second McLaren, 0.196s behind his team-mate and FP3 pacesetter Norris. 

Max Verstappen was once again frustrated behind the wheel of his Red Bull as he took fifth, some three tenths down. The four-time world champion will serve a one-place grid penalty on Sunday for clashing with Liam Lawson in FP2. 

Russell could only manage a lap good enough for seventh, ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, Lawson - who also has a one-place grid drop - and Arvid Lindblad, who completed the top-10 for Racing Bulls.

Ryo Hirakawa was 19th and half a second behind Haas team-mate Ollie Bearman after being dramatically parachuted into the team’s driver line-up midway through the weekend. 

Haas suddenly dropped Esteban Ocon, who is leaving the team at the end of the year, with no explanation on Saturday morning. 

Ocon’s shock departure has led to speculation of a major fallout within the team after Friday practice. The Frenchman was heard having a dispute with his race engineer in FP2. 

It was a frustrating session for Gabriel Bortoleto and home favourite Sergio Perez, both of whom failed to appear in FP3 after experiencing technical issues on their Audi and Cadillac cars. 

Both teams elected to carry out precautionary power unit changes, leaving Bortoleto and Perez 21st and 22nd with no laps completed in FP3.