Red Bull Racing is the favourite to race in Mexico this weekend. In the second free practice Max Verstappen was the fastest, but can the team keep it up in the final free practice? Find out now in the summary of VT3 for the GP of Mexico.

The third free practice session before the race in Mexico starts off remarkably cool, with only 17 degrees on the thermometer. Many drivers are not yet ready to hit the asphalt. Lewis Hamilton 's car still needs to be assembled when the light goes green for the drivers. That is a big difference with the second free practice, when it was chaos on track.

Slipping on the oil

After more than five minutes the first driver finally comes out, namely Yuki Tsunoda who is testing his brand new Honda engine. The Japanese driver has to avoid a few spots on the track, because some oil has leaked out and that makes the cold asphalt very slippery. Some cement has been sprinkled on the track, but that doesn't neutralize the oil completely. Also George Russell notices very soon that it isn't a smart idea to brake on the slippery spots.

After twenty minutes it finally gets a bit busier on the track, with drivers from Ferrari, Alpine, McLaren and Haas also exploring the track. At the first lap of Carlos Sainz the Spaniard immediately skids on the oil, but he still manages to keep his Ferrari within the lines. And not much later Charles Leclerc does exactly the same. Meanwhile Lando Norris temporarily manages to set the fastest time, but it's still waiting for Mercedes and Red Bull Racing to come out on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Finally time for the top guys

A few minutes later, it's finally time, with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas showing their faces on the tarmac. The Brit will have to do well, because during VT2 Verstappen was clearly the fastest. Of course Hamilton immediately takes the fastest time from Norris, but it doesn't take long before that spot is taken by his team mate. And two minutes later the crowd can cheer, because Sergio Perez puts the fastest time on the board. It remains to be seen how fast Verstappen is today.

At the halfway point of the session the Dutchman finally comes out on the asphalt. He shows that he is in a good mood again today as he sets the fastest time and is almost four tenths quicker than Perez and over a second quicker than Hamilton. Meanwhile, the Brit brakes for the third time this weekend at turn one and he has to make a detour onto the grass.

Practicing for qualifying

In the final stages of the third free practice session, the track becomes quiet again as almost all drivers return to the garage to get ready for some final quick runs to practice for qualifying. Only the two Ferraris decide to stay on the track to see if they can improve their times. Leclerc doesn't really succeed in his first attempt though, as he shoots over the kerb at turn three and ends up in a spin, immediately wearing out his new tyres.

Hamilton manages to improve his own time on his tyres, but is still no further than third place and over six tenths slower than Verstappen. The Dutchman has to stay in the garage in the meantime, because the team is still working on his RB16B.

With five minutes left on the clock Verstappen is able to go out and set a fast lap on brand new soft tyres. He immediately has a good target, as Sergio Perez finally takes over the fastest time and brings the crowd to its feet. The Dutchman doesn't like the new setup at all, which means he can't get anywhere near his team mate's time. Things are looking good for the Red Bull Racing team though, with a lead of no less than 0.65 seconds over Mercedes!