Three time's a charm: Max the fastest again at third free practice in Mexico

Published on 27 October 2018 by Mike Motilall

Max Verstappen has reigned supreme so far in Mexico. After he topped the leaderboard at the first two free practice sessions, the Dutch Aston Martin Red Bull Racing-driver did exactly the same at the final free practice session on Saturday. Title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel trail by some three tenths, on a track that was getting drier the entire session.

Although it remained dry when the final free practice gets underway, the tarmac on Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez was still damp as a result of some showers earlier on. The first drivers to venture out on track, all opt to run on the intermediates and some even went for the full wets. Apart from installation laps, it remained rather quiet on the circuit until Fernando Alonso gets a timed lap on the clock after 29 minutes. He is the first and also the only one who first went for the slicks (hyper-softs).

Slowly but surely, more and more drivers venture out on the asphalt that is getting drier and drier and with eighteen minutes remaining on the clock, Max also joins the fun. The lap times are still way higher than those set on Friday, but the drivers are pushing by the minute. Moments later, Valtteri Bottas comes to a halt with what looks to be a hydraulic issue. Max is then second fastest (1:17.918), just a tenth away from Vettel.

After a brief Virtual Safety Car-deployment, to recover the stranded Mercedes, Leclerc manages to put his Sauber in P1 with a 1:17.059. Verstappen hits the track again with still seven minutes to go and has also strapped on a new set of the hyper-softs. On those the Dutchman tops the board with a 1:16.385, putting him even three tenths faster than his best time on Friday. Hamilton and Vettel are nowhere close to Max’ time and trail him by respectively two and three tenths.

Romain Grosjean locks up in his Haas after which we see Max once again even better his fastest time by one tenth. Thus topping also the leaderboard at the final free practice with a 1:16.284.

Qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 20.00 hrs local Dutch time.

Mexican GP contest: win a Red Bull Racing shoulder bag!

Results third free practice Mexico: