Postpublished at 18:41 British Summer Time 26 October
18:41 BST 26 October
Mercedes did have to break curfew last night to get George Russell's car in good shape for today's action, and while he did need a new chassis, the gearbox and engine are both fine, so no penalties incoming.
Russell is one of the first drivers to head out today, understandably, but it's Max Verstappen who has set the first marker. The Red Bull man has clocked a 1:18.329 on the softs, but he's just messaged the pit wall to say he has "no rear grip".
George Russell made it four accidents for Mercedes drivers in four consecutive days of track action with a crash in Friday practice.
Russell’s heavy impact with the barriers in the high-speed Esses followed Lewis Hamilton spinning out of the US Grand Prix on the second lap last Sunday, Russell crashing in qualifying the day before at the same corner, and a spin for Hamilton at high speed in the Esses in Austin Friday practice.
Bouncing was part of the cause of the accidents both Mercedes drivers had at Turn 19 in Austin last weekend.
Hamilton’s car continues with the upgrades introduced last weekend in Austin, despite their crash-strewn weekend in Texas. Russell is using an older specification because he damaged his new parts with his qualifying crash and Mercedes have not had time to build replacements.
Postpublished at 18:37 British Summer Time 26 October
18:37 BST 26 October
Sam Bird Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
I expect McLaren to be competitive at this track, Ferrari look strong as well. Max Verstappen has had a difficult time over first and second practice with engine woes.
Red Bull have changed Max Verstappen's engine for another in the pool - so without penalty - because, they say, of "intake air circuit leakage which could not be thoroughly resolved ahead of the third practice session".
Tyre talkpublished at 18:31 British Summer Time 26 October
18:31 BST 26 October
Pirelli have chosen the softest tyres in the range for this weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix, with teams able to select from the C3 (white, hard), C4 (medium, yellow) and C5 (soft, red) compounds. With second practice devoted to 90-minute look ahead to 2025, these are the regular sets available for final practice.
Tune inpublished at 18:28 British Summer Time 26 October
18:28 BST 26 October
BBC Sounds
Bienvenido, Harry Benjamin, McLaren Formula E Driver Sam Bird and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson.
The team are in position, so tune in on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and at the top of this page using the 'listen live' tab. You can also ask BBC Sounds to play Mexico City Grand Prix practice three via most smart speakers.
'Day to forget' for Verstappenpublished at 18:27 British Summer Time 26 October
18:27 BST 26 October
Image source, Getty Images
Max Verstappen called yesterday's running "a day to forget", after both his practice sessions were hampered by issues with his car.
The Dutchman reported "no power" in the first hour, before flagging a "weird noise" to his pit wall early in the second. Following the delay for George Russell's crash, Verstappen took to the track once more, only to be called back shortly after with the same problem. With his session ended early, Red Bull said the were investigating a power-unit issue.
"From the engine side we are checking; I don’t know exactly what it is,” said Verstappen. "But yeah, from my side a pretty much useless day, I did like four or five laps so that is not much. Not much to read into at the moment."
Can Ferrari catch Red Bull?published at 18:25 British Summer Time 26 October
18:25 BST 26 October
In the constructors' championship, a one-two for Ferrari in Texas has put the Italian team just eight points away from second-placed Red Bull's total. McLaren are still leading the way, but there are definitely three runners still in this constructors' race.
Verstappen on toppublished at 18:23 British Summer Time 26 October
18:23 BST 26 October
Image source, Getty Images
So, with stewards have dismissing McLaren's request, the gap between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in the fight for this 2024 title. Norris needs to outscore the three-time world champion by an average of nearly 12 points a race to be crowned champion.
Another strong weekend for Ferrari, however, and Charles Leclerc could steal that runners-up. The Ferrari driver is just 22 points behind Briton Norris following his victory in Austin last weekend.
Formula 1's governing body has rejected a request by McLaren to review a penalty handed out to Lando Norris in the United States Grand Prix.
The five-second penalty, for overtaking title rival Max Verstappen off the track, demoted Norris behind the Dutchman from third to fourth place in the race results.
Stewards for governing body the FIA rejected McLaren's submission on the grounds that it contained "no relevant new element".
McLaren had questioned the stewards' verdict on the grounds that it was based on an "error" in assessing the incident.
The decision means Verstappen keeps the 57-point lead he holds over Norris heading into this weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix, with five races to go and 146 points still available.
Good eveningpublished at 18:18 British Summer Time 26 October
18:18 BST 26 October
Image source, Getty Images
Hello, folks. Each session so far has been punctured by stoppages and with second practice handed over to Pirelli for a 2025 tyre test (and some rookies taking part in the opening hour), we're still in the dark as to who has the one-lap pace to stick it on pole for tomorrow's Mexico City Grand Prix.
Third practice gets under way at 18:30 BST.
Qualifying goes green at 22:00 BST.
Commentary on both sessions is available on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and at the top of this page using the 'listen tab'. You can also ask BBC Sounds to play Mexico City Grand Prix practice three via most smart speakers.
Now, McLaren have been waiting on a decision by the FIA after the team submitted a 'right of review' over Lando Norris' Austin penalty following his track battle with title rival Max Verstappen.
Were the papaya team successful with the request? Not quite...
Tough day at the officepublished at 18:15 British Summer Time 26 October
18:15 BST 26 October
Image source, Getty Images
Friday in Mexico City ended up being a costly affair for the likes of Williams, Ferrari and Mercedes, with all three teams experiencing heavy crashes on the opening day of running at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Alex Albon missed out completely on the extended second practice session, while a downbeat George Russell said it is “one thing after another at the moment” for the Silver Arrows.
With the all-important fight for pole position coming up later on, will today's third practice hour be free of red flags?
