Mexican GP: Mercedes strike first, Verstappen power issue and Albon crashes out
Mercedes driver George Russell pictured during practice
George Russell topped a dusty and disruptive first practice ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen suffering a power issue late in the session and Alex Albon crashing out.
Russell was the only driver to drop into the 1:17.9 benchmark with Carlos Sainz three tenths off the early pace and Yuki Tsunoda rounding out an unusual top three at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Mexican Grand Prix: George Russell throws down the first marker
Bright sunny skies greeted the 20 drivers as the track action got underway at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, a welcome sight for the five rookie drivers taking part with Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Oliver Bearman (Ferrari), Pato O’Ward (McLaren), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin) and Robert Shwartzman (Sauber) all soaking up more precious F1 experience with their respective teams.
There was an early red flag triggered after an incident involving Antonelli, but thankfully it was not anywhere near close to the FP1 crash he suffered on his Mercedes debut at the Italian Grand Prix.
This time, the Italian drove over a piece of debris on the racing line, which needed a steward to hot-foot on to a safe track to retrieve it.
Just five minutes were lost overall before the track was clear again and running resumed with all drivers seeing what the hard tyres had to offer on this green circuit.
It was not long again, though, until a second red flag would disrupt the session. This time the incident was much more severe.
Coming through Turn 10, Albon lost control of his Williams car with a snap of oversteer and hit the front left side of Oliver Bearman’s car which was off the racing line.
Albon would suffer a heavy shunt into the barriers but he thankfully reported that he was ok and removed himself from the car. Bearman, too, was fine after the accident.
During the red flag period, the FIA announced that another of the fresh-faced FP1 crew, Shwartzman, would be investigated after the session for overtaking under yellow flag conditions.
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Just 25 minutes remained on the clock when the session restarted for a third time. That resulted in a very busy pit lane and some drivers returning to the track with some new soft tyres strapped on.
After a warm-up lap fight with Max Verstappen, it was Sainz to throw down the first real lap time of the session and promptly posted a 1:18.573.
That time remained there for a mere blink of the eye, as Russell opened up a 0.575s gap with a very strong first push. Verstappen’s first attack lap was only good enough for P3.
Sainz improved with his next attempt, but it was still three tenths shy of Russell’s best. Meanwhile, Tsunoda leapfrogged Verstappen for P3 and Hulkenberg joined the top five party as the clock ticked down to 10 minutes remaining.
The session would then come to an early end for Verstappen, who reported on the team radio that he had “no power” and that the engine was not “behaving well”.
He was able to nurse the RB20 car back to the Red Bull garage, where the investigations into the issue quickly began.
Mexican Grand Prix: FP1 timesheet
1 George RUSSELL Mercedes 1:17.998
2. Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +0.317
3 Yuki TSUNODA RB +0.701
4 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing +0.841
5 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team +0.906
6 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +0.960
7 Esteban OCON Alpine +0.998
8 Valtteri BOTTAS Kick Sauber +1.050
9 Liam LAWSON RB +1.095
10 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing +1.096
11 Franco COLAPINTO Williams +1.111
12 Andrea Kimi ANTONELLI Mercedes +1.202
13 Patricio O’WARD McLaren +1.297
14 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team +1.337
15 Pierre GASLY Alpine +1.342
16 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +1.602
17 Alexander ALBON Williams +1.814
18 Felipe DRUGOVICH Aston Martin +1.821
19 Robert SHWARTZMAN Kick Sauber +1.990
20 Oliver BEARMAN Ferrari +3.258
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