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Red Bull's Verstappen dials in the speed in FP3

Red Bull's Max Verstappen clocked in with the fastest lap in Saturday's second free practice session for the Mexican Grand Prix.

The Dutch driver confirmed that his team and himself will be forces to be reckoned with in qualifying, as he edged out in the morning run Lewis Hamilton by 0.075s and Sebastian Vettel by 0.117s.

Mexican Grand Prix - Free practice 3 results

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:17.113s		20
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:17.188s	+ 0.075s	23
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:17.230s	+ 0.117s	21
4	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:17.283s	+ 0.170s	18
5	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:17.361s	+ 0.248s	10
6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:17.517s	+ 0.404s	27
7	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:18.040s	+ 0.927s	20
8	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:18.165s	+ 1.052s	18
9	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1:18.208s	+ 1.095s	21
10	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:18.380s	+ 1.267s	21
11	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:18.602s	+ 1.489s	23
12	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:18.690s	+ 1.577s	23
13	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:19.066s	+ 1.953s	20
14	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:19.205s	+ 2.092s	19
15	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:19.331s	+ 2.218s	27
16	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:19.565s	+ 2.452s	22
17	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:19.586s	+ 2.473s	22
18	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	1:19.826s	+ 2.713s	16
19	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:20.030s	+ 2.917s	25
20	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso			2

The session kicked off at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez under a glorious Mexican sun for the ultimate dress rehearsal before this afternoon's crucial qualifying.

As a reminder, only a quarter of a second covered the top four in FP2 yesterday, with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo setting the pace with a record lap in 1:17.801s.

Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly was in dire need of mileage after a his troubled Friday session, so the French driver predictably headed out early. But incredibly, the 21-year-old pulled over in the stadium on his installation lap with an engine issue!

Rotten luck for the rookie who will have his work cut out for him in qualifying with such limited running.

Force India's Esteban Ocon was the first man to post a representative time but a roar from the crowds meant that team mate Sergio Perez was top of the heap.

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Both were quickly displaced however, and by a comfortable margin, by Lewis Hamilton and his ultra-soft-shod Mercedes. The Briton then passed the baton to Valtteri Bottas as times began to tumble.

Twenty-five minutes into the session, Red Bull's drivers finally took to the track, with Max Verstappen posting the third fastest time and Ricciardo slotting in P8. Both drivers ventured out on the soft compound rubber however as they kept their cards close to their chest.

Eventually, Ferrari made a move, with Sebastian Vettel setting the fastest lap with Kimi Raikkonen in tow, but Max Verstappen then vaulted to the top, beating yesterday's best with a 1:17.113 after successive runs while Hamilton complained of power issues with his Mercedes engine.

As good as his performance appeared to be, Verstappen was hardly content, quipping over the radio that his last sector was "absolutely useless".

Power issues didn't stop Hamilton from snapping at the Red Bull drivers' heals as he clocked the second fastest time, while Ricciardo - another man to watch this afternoon - limited his running in the latter part of the session as he saved mileage on his engine.

Once again, little separated Force India and Renault, with local hero Perez asserting himself as best of the rest in P7, just beating Ocon, Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg who rounded off the top ten.

The tight session, with the top five drivers within 0.248s, sets us up nicely for this afternoon's thrilling shootout!

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Michael Delaney