Valtteri Bottas set the best time of the day. The Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) broke the rear wing on a track exit.
The Mercedes cars dominated the first free practice of the Mexican Grand Prix, with the Finn Valtteri Bottas’ best time and the second of the British Lewis Hamilton, and scare for the Mexican Sergio Czech Pérez, who broke the rear wing on a track exit.
The best time of the session was 1: 18.341 set by Bottas, 76 thousandths better than his partner Hamilton, which sucks in the Hermanos Rodríguez Racetrack to cut the twelve points of advantage that the Dutchman has Max Verstappen (Red Bull), current World Cup leader, which marked the third best record.
Your partner Czech Pérez set the fourth best time of the sunny morning (20 degrees Celsius, 41 on the asphalt and 35% humidity) on the Mexican track, although it was co-star of the initial scare of the session.
The setting was the curve 16 of the Aztec layout, the penultimate before facing the home straight, a turn to the right of almost 90 degrees that The Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) was choked first and then to Pérez.
Leclerc finished past braking, hitting the rear of your vehicle and breaking the spoiler. He took the Ferrari out easily and had to go to the workshops. Just a few minutes later, the same thing happened to Czech, who was also able to recover the car and take it to the garages.
By then Bottas was leading the race, with a record of 1: 20.459, which Hamilton later improved at the halfway point of the session (1: 19.789).
The Spanish Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), with his new set of soft tires he placed first temporarily – he finished sixth, just ahead of his compatriot Fernando Alonso (Alpine)– but Bottas immediately improved his time by more than half a second to set the final 1: 18.834.
In two and a half hours (3:00 p.m. local time, 9:00 p.m. GMT) the action will return to the Hermanos Rodríguez Autodrome with the second free practice session. (D)
Classification of first free practice
1. Valtteri Bottas (FIN / Mercedes) 1: 18.341
2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:18.417
3. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 1:18.464
4. Sergio Pérez (MEX / Red Bull) 1: 18.610
5. Pierre Gasly (FRA / AlphaTauri) 1: 18,985
6. Carlos Sainz (ESP / Ferrari) 1: 19.463
7. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Alpine) 1:19.656
8. Charles Leclerc (MON / Ferrari) 1: 19.667
9. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine) 1:19.759
10. Sebastian Vettel (ALE / Aston Martin) 1: 19.858
11. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN / AlphaTauri) 1: 20.011
12. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN / Alfa Romeo) 1: 20.026
13. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin) 1:20.030
14. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS / McLaren) 1: 20.273
15. Lando Norris (GBR / McLaren) 1: 20,301
16. Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA / Alfa Romeo) 1: 20.344
17. George Russell (GBR/Williams) 1:20.517
18. Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams) 1:21.580
19. Mick Schumacher (ALE / Haas) 1: 22.144
20. Nikita Mazepin (RUS/Haas) 1:22.819.
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