Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen started Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix topping the first practice session ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo.
Even though many ran the hypersoft tyres during the session, the track surface wasn’t up to the level to allow many of the drivers to set a perfect lap time. The abrasive surface meant the tyres were giving up in few laps itself.
Almost all the drivers were complaining of the hypersoft tyres going away – with slow-mos replays showing it as well. Verstappen still managed to get a quicker lap time with a 1m16.656s to top the FP1 session from Ricciardo (1m17.139s).
It ended up being a Renault 1-2-3-4 with the factory team’s Carlos Sainz (1m17.926s) finishing third from Nico Hulkenberg (1m18.028s) in fourth while the championship leader Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m18.075s) rounding the Top 5.
Valtteri Bottas (1m18.322s) was sixth behind Hamilton with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel (1m18.746s) and Kimi Raikkonen (1m18.936s) following the Mercedes drivers in seventh and eighth respectively. All the four used the ultrasoft compound to set their best times.
Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley (1m19.024s) was ninth as Racing Point Force India’s Nicholas Latifi (1m19.078s) completed the Top 10 – the Canadian driver the car replacing Esteban Ocon with Sergio Perez (1m19.124s) finishing 11th.
Perez also set his best time on the ultrasoft compound. Sauber’s Antonio Giovinazzi (1m19.134s) was 12th with the Italian driving the car for Charles Leclerc with Haas’ Romain Grosjean (1m19.276s) in 13th.
Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson (1m19.312s) was 14th with McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m19.646s) in 15th – the British driver driving the car for Fernando Alonso. Behind Norris was teammate Stoffel Vandoorne (1m19.716s) from Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (1m19.853s).
The two Williams drivers Sergey Sirotkin (1m19.899s) and Lance Stroll (1m20142s) were 18th and 19th respectively – the last two runners as Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly couldn’t drive as the team decided to change engine on his car.
