Qualifying preview | Norris flies in FP3 as Verstappen stumbles
An enthralling qualifying session is about to take place at the Mexico City Grand Prix. With all the free practice sessions done and dusted, it's time to preview who may take P1.
There has been plenty of talk throughout the race weekend that starting on pole position may not be as advantageous as it should be, with the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez boasting the longest run from the start line to the first corner.
However, with such a finely poised title battle playing out before our eyes, there will be no inches given by any drivers in Saturday's timed session. But who are the favourites to take pole position? Let's find out!
Norris flexes his muscles after FP3
The man in form after the three practice sessions this weekend is Lando Norris, storming to the top of the leaderboard in FP3 by finishing three-tenths clear of his fellow drivers on the grid.
After missing out on FP1 to allow Pato O'Ward to get behind the wheel, the Brit found his groove very quickly, finishing P4 and two-tenths off the pace of Max Verstappen.
Come FP3 time, and the 25-year-old found joy that no other driver could. His laptime of 1.16.633 was the fastest of the weekend so far by some margin, with Lewis Hamilton only able to come within +0.345 to take P2.
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No doubt Norris will be buoyed with cnfidence going into qualifying later on Saturday, and he will be the favourite in everybody's eyes as he looks to cut the 14 point deficit between himself and teammate Oscar Piastri.
Piastri's slump continues
Speaking of Piastri, his struggles seem to be continuing. The Australian still leads the way in the drivers' standings, but he has missed out on a Grand Prix podium in the last three races, the longest spell of his 2025 season.
A hugely disappointing weekend at the United States Grand Prix saw the 24-year-old finish down in P5, dropping vital points in a tightening title battle after Verstappen and Norris came home in P1 and P2, respectively.
But a change in form looks like wishful thinking right now for the championship leader. A lowly P12 finish in FP2 could only be backed up by a P4 finish in the final practice session of the weekend, +0.599 points off Norris' pace at the front.
If anything could bring the Australian back into form and keep hold of his championship lead, a fantastic lap and a pole position in Mexico would be the ticket. Can he make that happen?
Verstappen drops off massively
Where Norris and Piastri have gone forward with their pace coming into Saturday, Verstappen has dropped backwards.
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The four-time world champion has been in scintillating form since that revitalising floor update that was brought to the Italian Grand Prix, sitting just 40 points off Piastri in the championship after being 104 points away after the weekend at Zandvoort.
Three wins in four races have shown the Dutchman is the man to beat right now, and a first-place finish in FP2 warned others that his title charge would continue in Mexico City.
However, that may be put on hold. There were some negative words shared about Red Bull's long-run pace after FP2, and in FP3, all Verstappen could muster was a P5 finish during qualifying simulations, +0.609 behind Norris.
It's a step backwards for Verstappen going into qualifying. But, iif anyone were to defy expectations and find pace when it matters most, it would be the Dutchman.
Others to watch out for
The top three in the championship battle may be the ones people will be looking out for when it comes to qualifying. However, there are some names to keep an eye on if a shcok were to be produced in Mexico.
Lewis Hamilton showed his hand in FP3, setting the pace just before Norris' stunning lap to prove that he and Ferrari are not to be cast aside this weekend.
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As well as Hamilton, his former teammate and Mercedes man George Russell has been impressive throughout 2025. He rounded out the top theee in FP3, two-tenths off Hamilton's 1.16.978 set by the seven time world champion.
With an in-depth look as to who may have the leading edge in qualifying, here is our F1 Tech expert, Francesco Bianchi.
Norris' setup to make the difference?
During FP3, McLaren’s Lando Norris managed to come back to top form on his run on the soft tyre. The MCL39 optimal cooling system allowed Norris to keep his soft tyres cool for the whole lap.
Moreover, the team seemed to have managed to improve the mechanical setup from Friday. The MCL39 behaved way better on kerbs thanks to a softer mechanical set-up, which also provided better traction out of the slow corners.
Not by accident, in fact, he made the biggest difference in the first and third sectors on his lap on the softs.
On the other side, Verstappen struggled way more than yesterday on the qualifying simulation. Midway through the session, he did a long run on the medium tyre to check the balance changes made overnight, and the pace looked similar to yesterday.
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However, his run on the soft was worse than yesterday. Verstappen complained of no grip on both axles, as the car was massively sliding, especially in the slow-speed corners. This limit is probably more related to the tyre preparation during the out lap.
Being so sensitive to temperature variation, it has become more and more important to do a perfect warm-up lap of the tyres on the soft tyre. As a consequence, Verstappen’s issues are probably more related to tyre temperature and preparation rather than set-up, as his run on the mediums was promising.
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