Lando Norris pips Kimi Antonelli as Mexico FP3 serves up an unexpected curveball

Lando Norris sent a statement by topping the third free practice session at the Mexico City Grand Prix, putting in the fastest time of the weekend so far.

Remarkably, he pipped Kimi Antonelli at the post by just a thousandth of a second, with a 1:17.600.

Charles Leclerc was third at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, with Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen rounding out the top five.

Ryo Hirakawa, who is racing for Haas in place of Esteban Ocon, finished FP3 in P19, almost six tenths and four places off team-mate Ollie Bearman.

Gabriel Bortoleto managed just two laps before problems struck his side of the Audi garage, not for the first time this weekend, and Sergio Perez could muster just one; a nightmare scenario heading into qualifying on Halloween.

Check out the full FP3 report below!

First half

FP3 kicked off in characteristically slow fashion, although there were immediate runners, with many drivers looking to make up for lost time.

Be it due to relinquishing their car for FP1, reliability issues or replacing Ocon, the Audis, Alpines and Hirakawa made their way onto the circuit.

Nico Hulkenberg set the early pace with a 1:20.572, some time off a representative effort, but Bortoleto was experiencing issues with his R26.

It has been a messy weekend for the German marque, after multiple indiscretions on Friday, and the power unit problems that plagued its early part of the season appeared to have resurfaced.

Similarly to before FP2, Audi confirmed there was a technical issue that was being investigated. It ultimately ended his session almost immediately.

As the lap times started to tumble, Pierre Gasly moved to the head of the pack, ahead of Arvid Lindblad.

But 20 minutes in, the leading teams started to find their groove, with Antonelli and George Russell bringing the lap times into the 1:18s.

Leclerc continued his impressive form from the opening two hours of practice, going top with a 1:18.720, only to be quickly displaced by Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton, before finding another five tenths of lap time to reclaim the advantage.

The supremacy of the Ferrari was evident, with his team-mate edging 23 milliseconds ahead as the session hit the half-hour mark.

Final 30 minutes

The yo-yo'ing at the top of the timing board between the two Ferraris continued as the clock approached 25 minutes remaining.

Leclerc went a hundredth of a second quicker than Hamilton with a 1:18.152, but that time was still some way off the more representative FP2 session, which ended in the 1:17.8s.

Meanwhile, Antonelli and Hadjar had the measure of their more experienced team-mates in third and fourth, with Russell and Verstappen down in seventh and eighth, with both McLarens between them.

Hirakawa, back in the car for the second time this weekend, was running in P14, five places and almost seven tenths ahead of Ollie Bearman.

Down at Cadillac, things were not going well. The team confirmed that a precautionary power unit change was being undertaken on Perez's car. The home hero, like Bortoleto, was without a time on the board with just 15 minutes to run.

Whilst medium tyres had dominated the first three-quarters of an hour, it was time for the soft, red-walled Pirellis.

Antonelli went first, but could not topple the Ferraris. Russell, however, had no such issues, setting a 1:18.107 to go to fastest.

But soon, Norris resumed his quietly assured weekend to beat his compatriot, whilst Piastri filed in behind.

On the verge of F1 championship glory, Antonelli was keen to send a message. His 1:17.601 marked the quickest time of the round.

However, Norris had other ideas, going faster by just a millisecond to top the final free practice session before qualifying.