Max quickest after Mexico FP1

Published on 26 October 2018 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen enjoyed a good start to his Mexican Grand Prix weekend. The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver was fastest in the opening free practice session at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Team mate Daniel Ricciardo was second, Carlos Sainz (Renault) was a somewhat surprising third quickest.

When the pitlane opens at 10am local time, McLaren’s Lando Norris is the first on track. The rookie, who will be occupy the McLaren cockpit full-time in 2019, takes over FP1 duties from Fernando Alonso.

At Force India, Esteban Ocon is replaced by Nicholas Latifi, but also only for the opening practice session.

A few minutes into the session, Max heads out in the RB14 for the first time this weekend. After a practice start and an installation lap, the youngster returns to his team. It is not until a third into FP1, that Max comes back out and sets a lap time. When he does, he is immediately fastest.

At the halfway mark, Red Bull still set the pace, this time with Ricciardo, followed by Max. Mercedes give an indication of their speed with Lewis Hamilton in third.

After an hour, most teams opt to run the quickest tyre available this weekend; the hypersoft. Max makes the most of the extra grip and sets the fastest lap of the session.

With fifteen minutes to go, Max is not only quickest in all three sectors, but he also holds the highest top speed. Through the remainder of the session, he stays on top as most drivers complain about tyre wear and are unable to better the Dutchman’s time.

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Results first free practice Mexico: