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Formula 1
Mexico City GP
F1 Mexican GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying
Saturday's action ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix
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Although the F1 titles are already sewn up in favour of Max Verstappen and Red Bull, the final three races will shape the rest of the championship order, as Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez battle over the runner-up spot in the championship.
Carlos Sainz and George Russell headed Friday's practice sessions as the day was dominated by the reveal of Red Bull's cost cap punishment - and the team received a $7m fine and a 10% reduction in aerodynamic testing for next season.
Aston Martin also received a fine for its procedural breach of the cost cap rules, totalling $450k.
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Now Verstappen heads back out so let's see what the reigning champion can now manage in response.
And Norris makes good use of the clear track to climb up to fourth! But he is still a second behind Russell's pacesetting time.
Norris now has the track all to himself with 20 minutes of the session to go!
Huge plumes of brake smoke emerged from the front of the Mercedes of Russell on the lap, but it certainly didn't hold him back. It's looking good for Mercedes at the moment but we need to see what Red Bull and Ferrari can ultimately manage.
Stopwatch
And it's Russell who just has the edge. He sets a 1m18.399s to go a tenth faster than his team-mate and now 0.7s quicker than Verstappen's earlier time. The Red Bull driver is still in the pits
But it's Hamilton who goes purple in the middle segment, this should be interesting!
Russell goes purple in the first sector, so it's an encouraging start!
We're now in a bit of a lull in proceedings but most of the top six have now just headed back out on fresh softs, so let's see if any of them can rival Verstappen's pace.
For those keeping count of drivers locking up and missing an apex, it's Albon's turn into the heavy braking of the fourth corner.
Albon is currently an impressive seventh for Williams, but it's worth bearing in mind that a lot of the midfield teams have set their laps on the mediums rather than the softs, like Albon.
Stopwatch
Verstappen improves his time fractionally on that lap to a 1m19.118s, so he's now nearly three tenths quicker than Russell at the top of the leaderboard.
Gasly's lock up is a bit more spectacular as he completely misses the corner and bounces over the grass at Turn 1. Seems like a lot of drivers getting caught out at the moment.
Hamilton has a big lock up into the opening complex and that wrecks his attempts to try to get on terms with his team-mate Russell in second.
Alonso is the latest to lock up and run wide at the tricky Turn 12 right-hander that has caught a number of drivers out already today.
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"My first sector was so terrible with the kerbs," says Verstappen in a radio message that the rest of the paddock really didn't want to hear.
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Verstappen goes straight to the top with his very first effort! It's a 1m19.296s so he's fractionally faster than Russell's best.
Alonso also now makes his first appearance of the session - Gasly is the only other driver yet to set a time.
And, typically, as we type that Verstappen does now head out!
Twenty minutes in and we're still yet to see the two double champions: Verstappen and Alonso.
Stroll is the latest driver to run wide on the kerbs, while Sainz is another to moan about the traffic.
Norris now moves up to sixth in the McLaren, but it's worth noting he's on the medium rubber while most have been using the faster soft tyres.
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And it's all getting a bit fraught elsewhere as Zhou is caught unaware by a Haas. "This guy, he's totally blocked me," moans the Alfa driver.
Perez, meanwhile, is up to second now, but still almost half a second down on the similarly soft-shod Russell.
The Haas's soft tyres were destroyed with that spin, when he just rode the kerb too much - but he did at least keep it out of the barriers.
Yellow flag
We have a spinner! It's Mick Schumacher, with his F1 future on the line, who has a big spin through the Turn 9/10 sequence.
Hamilton ran very deep into the Turn 12 right-hander on that lap and still somehow marginally improved his time, but stays fifth.
Stopwatch
Mercedes was looking quick yesterday and Russell now goes P1 with a 1m19.405s! And that's half a second quicker than Sainz
We're now over 10 minutes into this session and still almost all of the blue cars are yet to head out! Alpine, Williams, AlphaTauri and Verstappen's Red Bull all yet to venture on track. All very colour coordinated.
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Sainz now jumps to the top of the times with a 1m19.884s on his softs - that's half a second quicker than his team-mate.
Leclerc had a huge twitch on his lap at the same Turn 8 corner where he crashed yesterday! The Ferrari driver is clearly on the edge...
Stopwatch
But he now heads around and that is more representative! It's down to a 1m20.505s, but he's quickly displaced by Leclerc at the top of the times with a 1m20.487s.
Well, Hamilton does now set a time but it's not exactly representative. His 1m33.965s is just the 13 seconds slower than Bottas's effort...
A flood of others have headed out now including Sainz, the Haas machines and Ricciardo. Still only Bottas to set a time.
Leclerc, who will escape a grid penalty after his crunch with the barriers yesterday did not result in any of the key car internals being replaced, is also out to try to make up for the time he lost yesterday.
Hamilton has now joined the Astons and Alfas in experiencing the Mexican surface but has opted for the soft tyres, while the rest have been on mediums or hards.
And the reason for Zhou pitting is sort of clear as he's told he has "an issue". Nice and cryptic from Alfa.
Zhou pits immediately meaning Bottas has the track to himself and puts the first time on the board with a 1m21.462s.
Others are less keen to experience the Mexican track, with the Williams drivers and Verstappen among those standing around in their garages. It might be a while before we see them!
There is an initial flurry of cars heading out on track with the two Alfas and two Astons venturing out straightaway.
Green flag
And we're off! FP3 is under way.
By: autosport.com
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