Norris storms FP3 as Villeneuve questions rivals’ pace

The McLaren driver stormed to P1 in FP3 to place him firmly as the favourite to take pole position around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, three-tenths ahead of the rest of the grid.

Teammate Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen struggled to find their feet in the final free practice session of the weekend, lacking the pace Norris possessed during the qualifying simulations.

That performance will be a big boost for Norris amid his title-challenging hopes, sitting just 14 points off Piastri, who leads the way with 346 points.

"It's been crazy tight, even for free practice. Only Lando has stepped up," Villeneuve stated on Sky Sports after FP3 came to an end.

While te championship battle is hotting uo on track etween Norris, Piastri and Verstappen, there have been some back and forth exchanges off the track between the two teams.

On Friday in the Mexico City paddock, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said that Red Bull "are happier to give up" on their 2026 project, believing that the late floor update brought by the Austrian team late in 2025 will affect them next season.

A day later, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was presented with these statements made by the Italian, and the Austrian responded by laughing them off, as well as comparing the situation to Mercedes and the 2021 season.