FP1: Russell dominates opening practice, Sainz finishes second in Mexico City
Mercedes driver George Russell set the benchmark time in the opening practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix, beating the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz by over three tenths of a second. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo reports on Free Practice 1.
With the regulations stating that all Formula 1 drivers must sit out one FP1 per season for a rookie who has no more than two Grand Prix starts, Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin and Kick Sauber were the teams to make changes.
Austin F1 race winner Charles Leclerc handed over his car to Haas-bound Oliver Bearman, Lewis Hamilton was replaced by his 2025 replacement, Andrea Kimi Antonelli while Fernando Alonso sat out the opening practice to allow 2023 F2 champion Felipe Drugovich to gain experience. IndyCar racer Pato O'Ward got behind the wheel of Lando Norris' car while Robert Shwartzman drove Zhou Guanyu' car.
Only a few minutes into the session, the practice was interrupted by a short red flag period, with debris lying on the start/finish straight. Kimi Antonelli ran over the debris which forced Mercedes to inspect the W15, but the Brackley-based outfit managed to repair the car quickly.
There was another red-flag period halfway through the session after Williams driver Alex Albon lost control of his FW46 through the esses, making contact with the Ferrari of Bearman and sliding into the wall at speed.
When the session got going again, George Russell went quickest on Pirelli's soft tyres, beating the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz by over three tenths of a second.
RB's Yuki Tsunoda finished third, from reigning champion Max Verstappen in fourth. After their strong weekend in Texas, Nico Hulkenberg continued Haas’s encouraging run in fifth place, from the McLaren of Oscar Piastri.
Esteban Ocon took seventh for Alpine, from Valtteri Bottas in eighth, with RB's Liam Lawson and Red Bull's Sergio Perez having rounded out the top 10 places.
Having finished in the top ten in Austin, Franco Colapinto had an encouraging session en route to 11th, followed by Antonelli, O’Ward, the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, Pierre Gasly’s Alpine and Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin.
Albon and Bearman missed the soft-tyre running after their collision, and found themselves down in 17th and 20th respectively. Having complained about traffic on his flying lap, Drugovich finished in P18 while Sauber's test driver Shwartzman set the 19th quickest lap.
