Max Verstappen claims the top spot in FP1 at the Mexican Grand Prix

Max Verstappen has claimed the top spot in FP1 at the Mexican Grand Prix, finishing ahead of Alex Albon and Sergio Perez in second and third. The Red Bull driver’s lap time of 1:19.718 was enough to place him in the lead, which he held for the majority of the session.

Verstappen’s team-mate Perez is hoping to have a strong weekend at his home Grand Prix and did lead the session at one point, which sent the home crowd wild and full of noise and cheers.

Rookies flying around the circuit in FP1

Coming into the hour-long practice, the headlines were stolen by five F2 drivers slotting into cars for their rookie session. Oliver Bearman, Frederik Vesti, Theo Pourchaire, Isack Hadjar and Jack Doohan took to the circuit and ran a large number of laps. However, it was Bearman who claimed the bragging rights, as he finished in 15th, above all the rest.

Pourchaire encountered a pedal issue a handful of times throughout FP1 and was unable to set a time, which will, no doubt, be of major annoyance for both the young Frenchman and Alfa Romeo.

Sainz still finds strong finish despite issue early on

Carlos Sainz also had an issue early on in the hour, as he reported a hydraulics problem and had to return to the pits after crawling around the circuit. The Spaniard was able to get back out, however, and found himself in seventh place come to the chequered flag.

As for the rest of the front runners, McLaren and Ferrari had two battles going on. Lando Norris finished slightly ahead of Charles Leclerc in the battle for P4, and Oscar Piastri did the same against Sainz in the battle for P6.

Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll rounded out the top 10, with Lewis Hamilton finishing in 11th place. The Brit had an extremely quiet session and will look to improve in the early stages of FP2 later today.