Charles Leclerc headed a Ferrari 1-2 during final practice for Formula 1’s Mexican Grand Prix, which took place in drying conditions.
Overnight rain left the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez’s track surface wet and the majority of running only took place in the final 15 minutes, once it was dry enough for slicks.
Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel languished only eighth and ninth when the chequered flag was shown but on their final laps vaulted into first and second respectively.
Leclerc’s time of 1:16.145 left him just 0.027s clear of Vettel, while Mercedes posed a closer threat compared to its position on Friday.
Valtteri Bottas was just 0.114s behind Leclerc, with Lewis Hamilton another tenth further back, in spite of losing time by running deep into Turn 1.
Carlos Sainz Jr. secured a fine fifth for McLaren as both Red Bull drivers were compromised on their final push laps.
Max Verstappen, who was sixth, encountered an Alfa Romeo through the Esses section while eighth-placed Alexander Albon also hit traffic and was forced to back off.
Pierre Gasly preserved Toro Rosso’s fine weekend pace as he took seventh, while McLaren’s Lando Norris and home hero Sergio Perez capped the top 10.
Daniil Kvyat was next up for Toro Rosso, in front of Alfa Romeo duo Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi, who sandwiched Perez’s Racing Point team-mate Lance Stroll.
Haas’ struggles continued as Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were a low-key 15th and 16th respectively, while Williams finished substantially off the pace.
Renault’s difficult phase took another turn for the worst as it completed just one lap in the session.
The manufacturer detected a pollution within one of the cooling systems on both cars and due to the issue requiring “careful cleaning” it restricted its running to just an install lap for Nico Hulkenberg.
Qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix will begin at 13:00 local time
Discussion about this post