Lando Norris Edges Kimi Antonelli by 0.001s in Mexico City GP Practice

Lando Norris finished fastest in final practice for the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, beating Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli by just 0.001 seconds. The close result came after a disrupted session for several teams and an unexpected driver change at Haas: reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa took Esteban Ocon’s seat for the rest of the weekend.

Haas makes a midweekend driver change

Haas announced on Saturday that Ocon would take no further part in the Mexico City event. The team gave no reason for the decision. Hirakawa, who had driven in Friday’s first practice session, stepped in and began preparing for qualifying in the VF-26. The 32-year-old is set to make his Formula 1 debut.

Hirakawa had been among 10 rookie drivers who took part in FP1, where Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace. Ocon returned for FP2, but had an edgy exchange with his race engineer about the team’s running plan. His next possible appearance could come at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil next week, followed by the final rounds in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Reliability trouble interrupts the running

Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto spent a long spell in the garage after an engine problem and did not set a time. Fernando Alonso also reported trouble early in the session. “Something’s wrong with the engine. No power into [Turn] 1, and downshifts didn’t work,” he told Aston Martin over team radio.

Cadillac was working on the engine in Sergio Perez’s MAC-26, leaving him without a time as well. McLaren had repair work of its own: the team changed the front wing on Oscar Piastri’s car and a rear torsion bar on Norris’ MCL40. The changes didn’t end Norris’ handling concerns; he later ran deep at Turn 12 after the rear of his car slid.

Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar struggled to get comfortable, describing the car as “the worst car I’ve driven so far this weekend” and “terrible” after the first half-hour. His difficulties continued on soft tyres, with repeated steering corrections as he tried to settle the rear. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, returned to the garage for a detailed inspection of the rear of his RB22 and later complained that its brakes were “terrible.”

Late soft-tyre runs decide the order

Most early runners used medium C4 Pirelli tyres. Antonelli set the first benchmark at 1:18.754, 0.228 seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell. Ferrari soon moved to the front: Lewis Hamilton posted 1:18.162, then Leclerc went quicker with 1:18.152.

Several incidents kept the session from settling. Turn 1 had caught out drivers during the weekend, and Haas’ Oliver Bearman joined that list in the final 20 minutes. As teams shifted to qualifying simulations on soft C5 tyres, Russell tried an extra warm-up lap because he wasn’t initially confident pushing. He quickly concluded that the extra lap had been a mistake and advised Mercedes to have Antonelli push on his first flying attempt.

Russell still reached 1:18.107, briefly taking first place by 0.045 seconds over Leclerc’s medium-tyre time. Antonelli also took an extra warm-up lap. That gave Norris the opening to move ahead with a 1:17.873, 0.234 seconds faster than Russell and 0.179 seconds quicker than Piastri’s first attacking lap. Norris’ time was also the first to approach Leclerc’s 1:17.827 benchmark from Friday’s FP2.

Leclerc couldn’t immediately answer on the soft tyres, abandoning his first qualifying run after a sharp oversteer moment at Turn 11. Antonelli then produced a 1:17.601 to take the top spot. Verstappen split the McLarens with a 1:17.951, but Antonelli felt the Red Bull had distracted him by moving slowly through Turn 1.

Antonelli found more speed in the first sector on his next effort, recording 27.043 seconds there. A slower second sector offset that gain, however, and even a personal best in the final sector left him with a 1:17.621. Norris eventually took the lead on a used set of softs, stitching together enough quick mini-sectors to set a 1:17.600. Antonelli missed out by a thousandth.

Mexico City GP FP3 results

The top four were covered by 0.195 seconds, with Verstappen fifth and 0.351 seconds off Norris. The tight gaps leave qualifying finely poised, while Haas must also bring Hirakawa up to speed after his late call-up.