Fernando Alonso fights with the Honda engine and the gear change to continue in the fight; Norris beats Kimi by one thousandth
Lando Norris set the best time in the Free practice 3 of the Mexican F1 GP 2026 this Saturday by overcoming with two minutes left Kimi Antonelli for just one thousandth. The English driver, with a very used tire, attacked on his final lap on a very complicated track, where many errors were seen and where it was very easy to block tires and slide more than they should.
In that context, the Ferrariwho dominated again on Friday with Leclerc, began to dilute, as happened in Austin, this time, from Free Practice 3. Leclerc is still in the fight, but the feeling with which the red cars started FP3 was different from how it ended. Charles and lewis They set the standard with the medium rubber, but with the soft qualifying tire, they only Leclerc He remained there in the battle in third place, 0.117 behind the better time, ahead of Piastri, who was 4th, Verstappen (5th) and a hamilton which could only have been 6th at 0″469, too far.
George Russell was also very far away, 7th at half a second. Kimi already had everything in sight to win the title in Mexico since he only needs two points (9th in the race), but he could have it even easier due to the times achieved by his only two rivals for the crown, hamilton and Russel.
If neither of them wins, Kimi could even afford to drop out or not score. He should be champion this Sunday, but he wants to be big, fighting for pole and victory. In that sense, for now, the classification seems equal.
Alonso juggles the engine
Fernando Alonso had to juggle on the track with an engine Sling in which he encountered power failures on several occasions, unable to start several turns when he was already trying to accelerate before the main straight, and after also suffering drivability problems such as those he had with gear changes, something that even caused him to spin at low speed.
The Spaniard fought with everything and against everything, fighting with his engine problems, and was seen angry in his cabin when it did not give him power, banging on the steering wheel. He was also seen pressing the gear shift insistently looking for answers. But he didn’t throw in the towel. He kept trying and made several positive turns. He placed 12th during the session and finished 14th, 1.250 off the lead, two tenths behind Hülkenberg’s 11th place.
He remains in the fight for a good starting position on the grid in search of qualifying for a point after the good sensations on Friday, when He was 7th in FP1 and 12th in FP2, breaking the barrier of second compared to the best in Free Practice 2 for the first time. This time, he was more than a second away, but he stayed there in the battle. Q2 must be possible and then you must battle for the best starting place within that area.
Sainz, Q2 goal
Carlos Sainz finished 16thto 1″6 of the head with an uncompetitive Williams with which he will try again to achieve the difficult objective of getting into Q2.
The Spaniard once again surpassed his teammate Alex Albon and was 0″287 behind 15th place, Bearman. He is 1″1 from the Top-10. His maximum goal should be Q2 if he manages to maximize the potential of his car with perfect laps on a complicated track, as he has been doing all season.
