FP3 summary - Verstappen completes FP hattrick, Bottas breaks down!

Red Bull's Max Verstappen has completed the hattrick of Free Practice as the Dutchman also won the third and final practice round on Saturday, as Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas's car broke down in the final stage of the session with a hydraulic failure.

Verstappen unofficially beat the track record at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with a 1:16.284, beating Lewis Hamilton in second place and Sebastian Vettel in third.

Vettel, of course, needs to win on Sunday to keep his championship hopes alive, ánd he needs Lewis Hamilton to finish eighth or lower in order for the championship not to be decided.

What Hamilton won't like is that his teammate Bottas had a hydraulics failure, which is a known problem with the altitude in Mexico City. His W09 simply gave up and the Finn had to pull over.

It took over half an hour of the hour-long session for a time to be set. Fernando Alonso was the first one to brave the track for a hot-lap, and many drivers followed suit once the Spaniard had done so. After most drivers had gotten a run in, Vettel led the pack with a 1:17.8, a time which would be beaten again after Bottas's car had been towed to safety.

Charles Leclerc struck first in his Sauber, climbing to P1 with a tidy 1:17.059. Verstappen blew the Monegasque rookie out of the water though with his time, beating the Sauber with six-tenths of a second. At the checkered flag, the 21-year-old even improved his time by a tenth with that 1:16.284

Hamilton closely followed the Dutchman +0.254 and Vettel was +0.282. Verstappen has set himself up beautifully to get his first-ever pole position in his career, something he's gotten close to so many times.

Can he finally get that pole that has eluded him for so long? Will Bottas run in qualifying later today? And will Hamilton's Mercedes survive on Sunday? We'll find out later this weekend!