2026 Mexico City GP FP3: Norris edges Antonelli by 0.001s

Lando Norris delivered a last-gasp lap to beat championship leader Kimi Antonelli by the smallest of margins in Mexico City, setting up a fiercely competitive qualifying battle as Ferrari and Red Bull remained in contention.

Lando Norris snatched the fastest time in final practice for the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, edging Mercedes title favourite Kimi Antonelli by an astonishing 0.001s as McLaren emerged on top in an incredibly tight FP3 session.

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The reigning world champion produced a 1m 17.600s lap in the closing minutes at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, denying Antonelli the top spot by just one thousandth of a second. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who had dominated both Friday sessions, finished third, only 0.117s adrift of Norris.

2026 Mexico City Grand Prix FP3 Results

2026 Mexico City Grand Prix FP3, 31 October 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:17.600	26
2	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.001s	24
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.117s	21
4	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.195s	20
5	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.351s	21
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.469s	18
7	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.507s	27
8	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	+0.509s	19
9	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+0.513s	28
10	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+0.537s	29
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+0.960s	32
12	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+1.052s	31
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1.074s	26
14	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+1.250s	25
15	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+1.327s	22
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+1.614s	22
17	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+1.701s	26
18	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+1.776s	21
19	50	Ryo Hirakawa	Haas F1 Team	+1.904s	32
20	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+2.742s	22
21	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi		2
22	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac		1

With Antonelli on the verge of securing his maiden drivers’ crown in the 2026 F1 World Championship, the exceptionally close margins suggested a fascinating fight for pole position, with McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull all showing competitive pace ahead of qualifying.

Saturday’s final hour of practice began at 11:30 local time, with Ryo Hirakawa immediately heading onto the circuit after Haas confirmed the Japanese driver would replace Esteban Ocon for the remainder of the weekend.

The Toyota World Endurance Championship racer had already taken part in FP1 on Friday and used the final practice session to build his confidence and gather valuable data ahead of his Formula 1 grand prix debut.

Hirakawa completed regular running throughout the session, making the most of the opportunity to familiarise himself with the VF-26 at one of the most technically demanding venues on the calendar.

However, not everyone enjoyed a productive start to Saturday.

Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto was among the first drivers to venture onto the circuit, but his session unravelled almost immediately when smoke appeared from the rear of his car following a power unit issue.

The Brazilian managed to return to the pits but was unable to record a lap time, leaving Audi with additional work to complete before qualifying.

Home favourite Sergio Perez also failed to register a time after Cadillac elected to carry out a precautionary power unit change on the Mexican’s car, limiting his preparations for qualifying at his home grand prix.

On track, Antonelli was one of the first leading contenders to establish a representative benchmark, moving to the top of the timesheets approaching the 20-minute mark with a 1m 18.754s on Pirelli’s Medium compound.

The Mercedes youngster soon improved by another tenth, demonstrating strong early pace as he continued his preparations for a potentially historic weekend.

Ferrari responded as the session approached its halfway point, with Lewis Hamilton recording a 1m 18.268s before team-mate Leclerc went quicker with a 1m 18.185s.

Leclerc then improved again to 1m 18.152s, briefly reaffirming the speed that had seen him lead both FP1 and FP2 on Friday.

As the circuit continued to evolve, attention gradually shifted towards qualifying simulations, although the leading teams waited until the final 20 minutes before committing to their fastest runs on the Soft tyre.

George Russell was the first of the frontrunners to make a serious attempt, posting a 1m 18.107s while complaining about the Mercedes’ lack of rear grip.

“Turn 12 is so bad, there is no rear end,” Russell reported over team radio, highlighting the handling difficulties drivers continued to face through the demanding middle sector.

Norris then became the first driver to break the 1m 18s barrier, setting a 1m 17.873s to move McLaren to the top of the order.

Antonelli immediately raised the stakes, producing a superb 1m 17.601s to reclaim first place and put himself firmly in contention heading towards the chequered flag.

Norris responded with another improvement, but his initial attempt still left him more than a tenth behind the Mercedes driver, forcing the McLaren racer to find another step in the closing minutes.

Leclerc, meanwhile, struggled to put together a clean first lap on the Soft compound after running wide during the middle sector, forcing him to abandon the attempt.

The Ferrari driver eventually recovered with a stronger lap, making particularly good use of the final sector to climb into second place as the leading positions continued to change.

Track limits and grip remained a challenge throughout the closing stages, with Hamilton suffering a snap of oversteer exiting the final corner, while Max Verstappen ran deep into the braking zone at Turn 4.

But it was Norris who ultimately found the decisive improvement.

With the session approaching its conclusion, the Briton produced a 1m 17.600s, beating Antonelli’s previous benchmark by the narrowest possible margin of 0.001s.

Neither Antonelli nor Leclerc could respond, leaving Norris fastest at the chequered flag and giving McLaren a timely boost ahead of the battle for pole position.

Leclerc completed the top three, while Oscar Piastri reinforced McLaren’s encouraging pace by finishing fourth, just 0.195s behind his team-mate.

Verstappen was fifth for Red Bull, 0.351s away from Norris, with Hamilton sixth and Russell seventh after their respective attempts to find additional pace.

Isack Hadjar placed eighth in the second Red Bull, while Racing Bulls team-mates Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.

Nico Hulkenberg finished 11th for Audi, followed by the Alpine pairing of Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly, with Fernando Alonso taking 14th for Aston Martin.

Oliver Bearman was 15th in the Haas, ahead of Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, while Lance Stroll completed the top 18.

Hirakawa finished 19th as he continued adapting to his new race seat, with Valtteri Bottas rounding out the 20 drivers who recorded a lap time for Cadillac.

Bortoleto and Perez were left without classified lap times following their respective power unit-related setbacks.

With just 0.001s separating Norris and Antonelli, the final practice session delivered an intriguing preview of qualifying, particularly with Leclerc also firmly in the mix after his impressive Friday performances.

For Antonelli, the championship picture remains the biggest storyline of the weekend, but Norris’ late improvement demonstrated that the Mercedes driver faces serious competition if he wants to celebrate his potential title triumph with pole position.