Max tops the leaderboard in final Mexican practice
Published on 28 October 2017 by Mike Motilall
Max Verstappen has prepared himself well enough for qualifying at the Mexican Grand Prix by topping the leaderboard in the final free practice. The Dutchman finished with a 1:17.113, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, indicating that the three top teams (Red Bull Racing, Mercedes and Ferrari) are quite evenly matched on the 4,304 kilometer long circuit in Mexico-city.
Under relatively cold conditions of about twelve degrees Centigrade, the third and final free practice gets underway. McLaren-drivers Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne are the first to get a timed lap. Pierre Gasly doesn’t even get to that. The Frenchman was forced to park his Toro Rosso just after two laps trackside with a smoking rear. This brings out a yellow flag in order to retrieve the stricken STR12.
Having spent the first fifteen minutes in the pits, Max gets out on track on the super-softs for his first run. With a 1:18.214 the Dutchman positions himself immediately in the top three of the leaderboard. Not much later, Verstappen betters his time to a 1:18.027.
“The tyres are not working”, Max tells his team on the radio. After a stint of eight laps, he pits again. Once in the pits, the Red Bull Racing-driver explains: “The front tyres are not working in the first sector. We need to change them.”
With over twenty minutes remaining on the clock, Max heads out back again. This time with the ultra-softs strapped on to his RB13. With the car in qualifying mode, Verstappen tops the board with a 1:17.223. In the following flying lap the youngster is able to better his time once more. With a 1:17.113, being the fastest ever lap on Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Max consolidates his first place.
In the closing stages, Max heads out for the third time, and again the ultra-softs have been strapped on. Verstappen is not able to improve his time anymore, but finishes the session in first place. Hamilton, Vettel, Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo all finish within a quarter of a second of the Dutchman.
Mexican Grand Prix - Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez - Saturday 28 October
RESULTS FINAL FREE PRACTICE 01 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:17.113 20 02 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:17.188 +0.075s 23 03 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:17.230 +0.117s 21 04 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:17.283 +0.170s 18 05 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:17.361 +0.248s 10 06 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:17.517 +0.404s 27 07 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:18.040 +0.927s 20 08 31 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 1:18.165 +1.052s 18 09 55 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:18.208 +1.095s 21 10 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:18.380 +1.267s 21 11 28 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:18.602 +1.489s 23 12 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1:18.690 +1.577s 23 13 18 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1:19.066 +1.953s 20 14 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:19.205 +2.092s 19 15 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:19.331 +2.218s 27 16 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1:19.565 +2.452s 22 17 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:19.586 +2.473s 22 18 94 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber Ferrari 1:19.826 +2.713s 16 19 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Honda 1:20.030 +2.917s 25 20 10 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 2
