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McLaren impress and beat Verstappen as Perez makes myriad of mistakes
Oscar Piastri has topped the third and final free practice session during the Mexican Grand Prix weekend. McLaren laid down a marker with Lando Norris setting almost the exact same time. They found themselves half a second up on Max Verstappen in P4, with Carlos Sainz also getting involved in P3. Sergio Perez lagged behind and finished 14th fastest.
What happened during the third free practice session in Mexico?
A raft of changes were made ahead of this session. Russell required a brand new chassis after his FP2 crash on Friday but was able to use the same engine and gearbox. Red Bull had to change Verstappen's engine after he experienced problems during FP1 and FP2. Unsurprisingly, those two drivers took to the track early in the session.
After the first 15 minutes, Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc sat at the top of the timesheet. Liam Lawson triggered a yellow flag with a spin as he left the stadium section. At this point, Verstappen was half a second down on Sainz's best time. This was on the soft tyres. Leclerc ended up going around two-tenths faster, strengthening Ferrari's position at the top of the timesheet.
Piastri and Perez moved closer to the top as the session reached the halfway point, but Verstappen remained some distance behind. There was some drama in the pitlane as a Ferrari mechanic tripped over whilst walking backwards and waving Leclerc out. He managed to get back up on his feet and wasn't injured.
With the focus put back on the qualifying simulations, McLaren took control. Piastri and Norris set almost the same time, with Sainz three-tenths behind after his run. Verstappen worked his way up to P4, but his teammate Sergio Perez lagged behind after a mistake in the stadium section. Red Bull sent Perez out again for another run on the softs, but he made a mistake before the stadium section.