George Russell beat team mate Lewis Hamilton to take Mercedes into pole position in the final practice session of the Mexico City Grand Prix on Saturday – sending a clear message to rivals Red Bull and Ferrari ahead of qualifying.
Russell produced a blistering time of 1 million 18.399 seconds – more than a second and a half faster than measure it on friday – In another bright and warm session at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, she finished 0.144 seconds ahead of Hamilton.
Read more: 5 things we learned from Friday’s training at the Mexico City Grand Prix
Max Verstappen and Red Bull were Mercedes’ closest rivals, but the Dutchman – almost half a second off the pace – left him regretting the ‘terrible’ first sector during the early lap on the soft tyres and ‘same problem again’ at the start of his second run, leading him to Back off, recharge and do another task.
At the back, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz dominated P4 and P6 respectively, smashing another Red Bull at home to Sergio Perez, who roared in the grand stands every time he completed a lap.
|
1 George contact Russians mercedes |
1: 18.399 |
|
2 Louis Hamilton pork meat mercedes |
+ 0.144 seconds |
|
3 the above Verstappen VER Red Bull Racing |
+ 0.477 seconds |
|
4 Charles Leclerc LEC Ferrari |
+ 0.724 seconds |
|
5 sergio Perez for every Red Bull Racing |
+ 0.842 seconds |
According to the US, FP3 celebrated a precious final hour of circuit time before qualifying, as five drivers went through first rookie training and a second dedicated practice for further evaluation of the 2023 Pirelli prime tyres.
Behind the Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari cars, Lando Norris was next for McLaren, with Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Torres’ Yuki Tsunoda, and Alex Albon’s Williams taking the top ten.
Alpine pair Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso finished eleventh and thirteenth respectively, splitting Alfa Romeo’s second Chu Gagno, with Daniel Ricciardo in fourteenth, about eight tenths slower than his teammate Norris.
Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) were next on the timetables, with the former surviving a trip through the grass and the latter receiving a fine for speeding in the lane.
FP3 Highlights: 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix
Mick Schumacher was all about gems in the early stages, but managed to shove him off the wall to recover and grab P17, three places and seven tenths faster than Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen, who is poised to Engine network penalty.
Nicholas Latifi finished 18th in another Williams race, with Sebastian Vettel 19th, ahead of the aforementioned Magnussen, after he complained of a “shocking” balance at the wheel of his Aston Martin.
Drivers and teams will now be set for Saturday’s qualifying session in Mexico City, which is scheduled to begin at 1500 local time. visit Racing Center for more information.
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