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Formula 1 Mexico City GP

F1 Mexico GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2

Friday's action from the 19th round of the 2023 Formula 1 season.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18, George Russell, Mercedes W13, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75

Max Verstappen and Red Bull may have both championship crowns in the bag already, but there remains plenty to play for in Mexico. 

After seeing his points advantage over Lewis Hamilton grow to 39 points through the Mercedes driver's disqualification in the United States, Sergio Perez will be keen to put on a show for his home fans and solidify his second position in the standings.

Ollie Bearman will make his F1 debut with Haas in the weekend's opening session, standing in for Kevin Magnussen, with Jack Doohan, Frederik Vesti, Theo Pourchaire and Isack Hadjar featuring for Alpine, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri respectively. 

FP1 will get under way at 19:30pm BST with FP2 at 23:00pm BST. 

 

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Stopwatch
Norris completes his lap first and puts in a 1m20.237s but Verstappen immediately responds with a 1m19.718s to go comfortably clear once more.
Soft tyres are now the order of the day and we are about to get some proper qualifying simulations. Strap in!
Of the young drivers, Bearman leads the way for Haas, in P10 - two places and two-tenths off Hulkenberg in the sister car.
Again showing strong pace are the two McLaren drivers, with Piastri currently P5 and Norris P6.
Into the top 10 for Hamilton on the test tyre. He is two seconds off the pace.
Hamilton is on a personal best effort. Currently, he is P15 but has completed very little running.
'Third time lucky' is a normal phrase. But for Pourchaire, this isn't the case. The brake pedal is still long and he's ordered back to the pits. Only he and Alonso are yet to set a time.
But while we were looking at the Ferrari garage, Albon has returned his Williams to second fastest, just 0.004s off Verstappen. 

Williams has an extremely slippery car and the early signs are looking good!
The engine cover is off Sainz's car and there are some very concerned looks being shared.
Verstappens effort was 1.3s faster than Perez's best effort. He is also 1.9s better off than the nearest non-Red Bull car - Leclerc.
Stopwatch
A Red Bull one-two but not in the way that the locals would want. Verstappen leads with a 1m20.245s.
Quote
"Same issue guys, same issue," reports Pourchaire after returning to the track.

A nightmare session so far for the current F2 championship leader.
More engine concerns, this time from Norris. He reports the throttle was revving to the limit. Replays show this was happening in the pitlane. Bizarre.
Stopwatch
Purple sectors one and two and, as Sainz is wheeled back, Perez goes fastest with a 1m21.596s. He is running the medium compound.
Mechanical problem
A brief yellow flag as Sainz leaves the track. He is recovering to the pits but has lost all hydraulics. He can't change gear and has no power steering.
Stopwatch
Albon had been sitting pretty at the top of the times but Verstappen has now assumed his regular position. A 1m21.858 is the new benchmark. 

The top three - Verstappen, Albon and Leclerc - are all on the test tyres.
A bizarre scene as Ricciardo opens his DRS and a piece of debris flies from his car. Piastri has reported this as 'a piece of metal' on the pit straight.
Leclerc - currently P4 - has reported strange noises from his power unit when he applies the throttle. In thin air, engine trouble is always a concern.
More trouble for rookies as Bearman has a nasty lockup before Hadjar reports that his car has gone into anti-stall and returns to the pits.
Stopwatch
But that quickly changes as Piastri and then Ricciardo go faster - the AlphaTauri driver leading with a 1m23.555s.
Stopwatch
An early local favourite at the top of the times, as Perez puts in an initial 1m23.935s.
Quote
"The [brake] pedal feels strange," reports Pourchaire. He is pushed back into the garage as Alfa Romeo take a look at what could be wrong.
Pirelli have provided a new construction of C4 tyre this weekend that teams are trialling in the early sessions. These tyres are in addition to the normal allocation.
Alonso and Stroll lead the field out of the pitlane with Pirelli test tyres fitted to most cars.
Lights green
The pitlane is open and we are go for FP1!
The music has played and we're in the final moments before 20 F1 cars take to the track in Mexico!
With 10 minutes remaining before the session begins, the air temp is 22.1C, track temp is 36.2C and the wind speed is a barely noticeable 0.5m/s.

With blue skies up above, the risk of rain is - predictably - 0%!
Breaking news

Key to all the teams running young talent is that costly mistakes are avoided. Haas are confident that Magnussen's car will be returned with all four wheels attached! 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/haas-sure-bearman-wont-go-through-anything-stupid-in-mexico-f1-practice-run/10538425/

FP1 will have a slightly odd look to it, with Ollie Bearman (Haas), Isack Hadjar (AlphaTauri), Frederik Vesti (Mercedes), Jack Doohan (Alpine) and Theo Pourchaire (Alfa Romeo) all taking part. Who will perform the best of the young drivers?
Another story that has carried over from the USGP is the disqualifications of Hamilton and Leclerc. Both drivers have taken different lines of attack this weekend, with Leclerc accepting the ruling and Hamilton seeming less-willing to let the matter lie.
Breaking news
Much has recently been made of the 'rivalry' between Red Bull team-mates Verstappen and Perez. However, the former has labelled this as "made up". 
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/bodyguard-protected-verstappen-feels-safe-in-mexico-amid-made-up-perez-f1-rivalry-/10538488/
Good evening and welcome to Mexico for FP1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix - the fourth-last race weekend of the season.

By: Autosport Staff

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