FP3: Leclerc confirms Ferrari advantage

F1 Grand Prix, GP Mexico, Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez

Charles Leclerc confirmed that Ferrari is the team to beat for qualifying at Mexico, as he topped the final practice session. He was only just faster than teammate Sebastian Vettel, followed by both Mercedes drivers.

Just like on Friday, the night before had brought plenty of rain, resulting in a humid track at the start of the session. The first 45 minutes of the session, therefore, saw only limited running, with drivers doing some system checks on intermediate tyres and get a feel for the conditions - again.

15 minutes from the end, many drivers switched to dry tyres to see how today's car settings worked out for qualifying later in the day.

Leclerc was fastest without trouble, though only 0.027s quicker than Vettel. The Mercedes drivers ended up third and fourth as Carlos Sainz impressed to go fifth fastest, despite limited running and a disappointing Friday. He was helped by an Alfa Romeo holding up Max Verstappen on a quick run. The Red Bull driver, therefore, had to settle for 6th.

Gasly held hopes up for Toro Rosso by going 7th fastest, topping Albon, Norris and Perez as they completed the top 10.

By then, Renault was already out of contention, as pollution in one of the cooling systems was found. The problem was found ahead of the session on Ricciardo's car, while Hulkenberg was eventually also sidelined midway through FP3 as the team opted to clean up both cars thoroughly ahead of qualifying.