Norris snatches top spot in Mexican GP FP3 amid razor-thin battle with Antonelli

One of the biggest talking points heading into FP3 was the unexpected driver change at Haas, with Ryo Hirakawa replacing Esteban Ocon for the remainder of the Mexican Grand Prix weekend. The Japanese driver already took part in FP1 on Friday, but his return to the cockpit on Saturday carried much greater significance, as he is now set to make his Formula 1 race debut on Sunday.

Hirakawa finished 19th with a 1:19.504, almost six tenths behind teammate Oliver Bearman, who placed 15th with a 1:18.927. Only Valtteri Bottas finished behind the Japanese driver among those who recorded a lap time, while Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto and Cadillac's Sergio Perez did not set a representative time.

After Charles Leclerc topped both FP1 and FP2 on Friday, the Ferrari driver was unable to complete a clean sweep of the three practice sessions at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Instead, Lando Norris emerged fastest in FP3 with a 1:17.600, narrowly beating Kimi Antonelli by just 0.001 seconds. The Mercedes driver came agonisingly close to taking the top spot, while Leclerc settled for third, 0.117 seconds off the pace.

Oscar Piastri followed in fourth, just 0.078 seconds behind Leclerc, giving McLaren two cars inside the top four. Max Verstappen completed the top five for Red Bull, 0.351 seconds behind Norris.

Lewis Hamilton took sixth in the second Ferrari, ahead of George Russell in seventh. The seven-time world champion finished 0.469 seconds behind Norris, with Russell another 0.038 seconds adrift.

Isack Hadjar was eighth, only two thousandths behind Russell, while Liam Lawson followed in ninth. Arvid Lindblad completed the top ten, putting both Racing Bulls drivers inside the leading group.

Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed out on the top ten in 11th, ahead of the two Alpine drivers, Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly. Fernando Alonso finished 14th for Aston Martin, with Bearman completing the top 15. Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon occupied 16th and 17th for Williams, while Lance Stroll finished 18th, ahead of Hirakawa and Bottas.