Overview
- Lando Norris led FP3 in Mexico with a 1:16.633, over three tenths clear of the field, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell as Oscar Piastri trailed his teammate by 0.599 seconds.
- Max Verstappen topped FP2 in 1:17.392 with Red Bull’s updated underbody but later reported worrying long-run performance and low grip, echoing concerns voiced by Helmut Marko.
- Piastri’s difficult run continued with P12 in FP2 before improving to P4 in FP3, while rivals noted Norris’s strong race simulation pace despite McLaren conducting long runs on softs.
- Nine rookies took part in FP1 under the Friday-driver rule, with Arvid Lindblad impressing in P6 for Red Bull, and Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli overcoming an electronic ‘emergency mode’ issue to finish P3 in FP2.
- In MotoGP qualifying at Sepang, Ducati rebounded from a muted Friday as Francesco Bagnaia secured pole with an all-Ducati front row alongside Alex Marquez and Franco Morbidelli.