Norris Edges Antonelli by 0.001s in Mexico City FP3

Lando Norris left it until the closing 90 seconds to take top spot in FP3 for the Mexico City Grand Prix, edging Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli — the man on course to succeed him as champion — by just 0.001s with a 1m17.600s.

Why it matters:

The margin itself means little, but the company Norris kept says plenty. Four drivers from four different teams ended the session within two tenths, and nobody ever looked fully in control of the afternoon. At altitude, where grip and turbo behaviour shift session to session, that kind of spread usually produces a scrappy qualifying order.

The details:

• Charles Leclerc put Ferrari third on a 1m17.717s after abandoning an earlier soft-tyre run over the kerbs at Turn 10, with Oscar Piastri fourth for McLaren.
• Max Verstappen was fifth, unhappy with his brakes and balance, running wide at Turn 4 and returning to the garage for rear-end changes.
• Lewis Hamilton shook off his FP2 power unit trouble to finish sixth, ahead of George Russell, who reported no rear grip through Turn 12.
• Isack Hadjar took eighth, while Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10 for Racing Bulls, split by 0.024s.
• Gabriel Bortoleto managed only 21st after smoke appeared at the rear of his Audi; Sergio Perez set no lap time at all.

Between the lines:

The freshly resurfaced Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez kept catching drivers out, and Fernando Alonso spun under braking at Turn 1 after reporting an engine problem — the sort of wasted session that stings at a track where track position is everything.

What's next:

Qualifying at 3pm local. Antonelli's pace suggests Mercedes has the outright speed, but Norris's late strike hints McLaren has been keeping something in reserve.