Valtteri Bottas led Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton after the first practice session of the Mexico Grand Prix weekend in 2021. Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen was third fastest on a dusty Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez track that has not been used by F1 since 2019.
Bottas ousted Hamilton by a narrow 0.076 seconds, and Verstappen was 0.123 seconds slower than the leading Mercedes. The fastest time of the Finn in training was measured with 1 minute 18.341 seconds.
Bottas leads Hamilton in the first practice session of the 2021 Mexican GP
Lewis Hamilton prepares to drive in the garage during practice ahead of the 2021 Mexican GP. (Photo by Lars Baron / Getty Images)
Hamilton was reprimanded for the first time this season when he went off the track at Turn 1 before bumping into it again between Turns 2 and 3. Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen was also reprimanded for a similar mistake on the same corner.
Local hero Sergio Perez set the fourth fastest time of the training session. In turn 16, however, the Mexican lost control and drove back into the guard rails. He had to spend almost 30 minutes in the garage while his team took care of the damage.
Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly set the fifth fastest time in practice, followed by Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz in sixth. Fernando Alonso set the seventh fastest time of the session for the Alpine F1, followed by Charles Leclerc’s second Ferrari, who finished eighth on the timesheet.
Alonso’s team-mate Esteban Ocon set the ninth fastest time, followed by Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel, who finished tenth fastest in practice. Yuki Tsunoda of Alpha Tauris, who had scored his first points at the US GP, set the eleventh fastest time and was followed by Raikkonen in P12. However, Tsunoda has received network penalties for replacing engine and supply train components.
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll set the 13th fastest time of the practice. He, too, stares at similar penalties as Tsunoda for switching to his fourth engine. The Canadian was followed by two McLaren drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris, who finished 14th and 15th on the timesheet, respectively.
Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi was 16th fastest, followed by Williams drivers George Russell and Nicholas Latifi, who were 17th and 18th respectively. Haas drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin were in 19th and 20th place, with the former leading the latter.
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<p>Although the Mexican track is strong ground for the Red Bull Racing Team, the Mercedes drivers were able to set the early pace as almost everyone struggled with grip problems during practice.</p>
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While the McLarens started their day slowly as their times weren’t representative, the rest of the riders struggled with boundary violations and a dusty tarmac that created numerous off-track moments.
Edited by Sandeep Banerjee
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