Verstappen Sets the Pace in Mexican Grand Prix Practice
Max Verstappen demonstrated his dominance in the practices of the Mexican Grand Prix, setting an implacable pace that tested his rivals, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who faced difficulties.
The Dutch driver, after winning three of the last four races, is emerging as the favorite to obtain another victory in Mexico City, where he has already triumphed on five occasions.
Verstappen, seeking his fifth consecutive title, finished Friday’s session with a 0.153-second advantage over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Norris placed fourth, 0.251 seconds behind the leader, while Piastri had a complicated session, finishing in 12th position, 0.840 seconds away.
McLaren faces more concerns due to the apparent performance of Leclerc, who obtained third place in the Austin race, and the outstanding performance of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who achieved the third-best time in the second practice for Mercedes.
Piastri and Norris cannot afford to have other drivers get in their way while they try to stop Verstappen’s advance.
Piastri, from Australia, will seek a solid weekend to boost his title fight. His lead in the overall standings has decreased since his victory in Zandvoort at the end of August, being overtaken by Norris and Verstappen in the following four races.
Piastri, who led the standings since Saudi Arabia in April, now leads Norris by 14 points and Verstappen by 40, after having had a lead of 34 and 104 points respectively over his rivals after his victory in Zandvoort.
Norris, Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton did not participate in the first practice. The McLaren driver had some complicated moments at the beginning of the session, going off track at turn 11 due to balance problems.
Leclerc, who led the first practice, where Piastri was fourth, returned to set the pace at the beginning of the second practice with medium tires, before Verstappen took the lead with soft tires.
Hamilton finished the day in fifth place, followed by Mercedes’ George Russell in sixth.
The first session of the weekend at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was not representative, with Norris and Verstappen among the nine drivers who did not participate. Norris ceded his car to the Mexican Pato O’Ward, while Verstappen’s Red Bull was driven by the 18-year-old British driver Arvid Lindblad. Russell wore a Mexican wrestler mask to secretly observe Fred Vesti driving his Mercedes from the stands in the stadium section. Lindblad increased his hopes of getting a seat with Racing Bulls for next season by recording the sixth-best time in FP1.