Russell and Hamilton top final practice in Mexico City

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton enjoyed an impressive final practice ahead of this afternoon's Mexican Grand Prix qualifying, the Mercedes drivers convincingly leading their rivals in the session.

The duo clocked in almost half a second clear of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, with all times set on the soft tyre.

Mercedes' gain appeared to be Ferrari's gain, as the Italian outfit closed out its practice as the third fastest team among the frontrunners with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz setting the fourth and sixth quickest laps.

• 2022 Mexican Grand Prix Free Practice 2 - Results

The paddock at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was still alive on Saturday morning with the sound of Red Bull's rivals venting their comments on the bulls' cost cap breach, and the debate is likely to rage on.

So when FP3 rolled around, it offered a welcomed respite to the endless discussions. However, there were some minor worries among the teams when the session kicked off, with an overcast sky and a 40 percent chance of rain.

Teams were eager to enjoy a full session after the disruption they suffered in Friday's extended FP2, so a flurry of cars headed out on track at the outset. However, Verstappen appeared in no hurry to get going.

Nevertheless, traffic swelled as Hamilton and then Sainz - running on the softs - put the first benchmark times on the board. But Russell, who topped FP2, then picked up the baton, putting a 1m19.405s on the board that was half a second quicker than Sainz.

Mick Schumacher was the session's first spinner, the Haas charger losing it through the Turn 9/10 sequence but keeping clear of the barriers.

It became clear that the frontrunners were in quali-sim mode, including Verstappen who finally took to the track and duly went to the top with a 1m19.296s.

The Dutchman pressed on and improved his time to edge Russell by 0.287s at the session's half-way mark. A great effort by Alex Albon pushed the Williams driver up to an impressive P7.

A bit of a lull in the running ensued, but things heated up again thanks to Mercedes, which slowly but surely was starting to stake its claim, the team's 'draggy' W13 working well in Mexico City's thin air.

Purple sectors initially put Hamilton on top, but Russell fired back with a 1m18.399s that edged his teammate by 0.144s and Verstappen by 0.719s.

Norris then made good use of a clear track to set the fourth quickest lap. Meanwhile, Verstappen improved his best time only marginally, Bottas leapfrogged up to P5, the Finn demonstrating that Alfa's recent upgrade is working.

As the session entered its final minutes, Ferrari were perhaps wondering what a difference a day makes. Leclerc's final run was good only for P4 while Sainz concluded his session P6.

Mercedes thus topped the timesheet, with Russell taking bragging rights. Behind the duo, Verstappen was 0.477s adrift, with Leclerc, Perez and Sainz completing the top six.

Norris was best of the rest in P7, edging Bottas, Tsunoda and Albon.

It was a low-profile session for the Alpine team, with Ocon and Alonso clocking in P11 and P13. Both Aston Martin's were among the lower-tier runners, as were a frustrated Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda, with brake problems creeping in once again at the AlphaTauri.

Can Mercedes challenge the odds and pull off an upset in Mexico City? Check back in a few hours to find out…

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