Max Verstappen boosted by latest Red Bull upgrade as Oscar Piastri struggles continue

Max Verstappen maintained his rich run of form by posting the leading time in first practice for the Mexican Grand Prix.

Verstappen was one of nine current F1 drivers who missed FP1, with their seats handed over to a rookie as per the FIA regulations. The four-time F1 champion had been joined on the sidelines by Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Oliver Bearman, Liam Lawson, and Carlos Sainz.

But once reunited with his Red Bull, Verstappen wasted no time in suggesting he goes into qualifying and the grand prix as favourite after winning three of the last four races to close the gap on championship leader Oscar Piastri to 40 points.

Piastri, who led Verstappen by 104 points after the Dutch Grand Prix, has suffered crashes and issues in the last four races that have seen his lead eroded. 

Verstappen's quickest lap of 1:17.392s was achieved in an RB21 sporting its latest upgrade, including a tweak to the floor as part of an overall cooling package required for this circuit due to Mexico City standing at 2,238 m (7,343 ft) above sea level, leading to 20 per cent thinner air, ensuring temperatures are higher in any car.

The Dutchman finished 0.153s clear of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who had topped FP1, with Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli third on the timesheet, 0.174s off the pace, followed by McLaren's Lando Norris a quarter of a second down.

As for Piastri, the session appeared a struggle for the Australian, who was down in 12th, 0.840s adrift.

Norris 'misfires'

On the medium tyre, Leclerc set the pace early on with a 1:18.669s. Despite complaining of a "lot of misfires" with his MCL39, Norris posted a lap 0.012s shy of Leclerc, with Piastri a quarter of a second adrift at that stage.

After an early off-track moment for Hamilton into the Turn 12 right-hander, the seven-time F1 champion followed up with a time just 0.020s behind Leclerc, before Piastri improved to be 0.085s off the pace, leaving the top four split by less than a tenth of a second after the opening 15 minutes.

Leclerc, though, stretched his advantage to 0.328s over Norris on the Monégasque's next flying run. He was on course to improve again on a follow-up lap after purpling the first two sectors, only to lose almost two-tenths of a second in the final sector.

As the second driver on the soft compound, it was a similar story for Alex Albon, who was half a second up in the first two sectors, only to brush a wall with the rear-left of his Williams out of the stadium complex, costing him the time he had initially gained.

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who was confined to the garage for a short period due to a technical issue in the opening 20 minutes, returned to set the second-quickest medium-tyre lap, just over two-tenths back.

Approaching the midway point, the teams and drivers turned to the softs, sparked by Leclerc with a 1:17.545s. It was a time that did not last long as Verstappen edged ahead by 0.153s, with a 1:17.392s, which was never headed through to the chequered flag.

Hamilton managed to elevate himself to fifth, exactly three tenths back, followed by Mercedes' George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda in his Red Bull, whilst the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll sandwiched Williams' Carlos Sainz to complete the top 10, the trio just over half a second adrift.

Albon finished a lowly 19th, with the only driver slower being Alpine's Pierre Gasly, 1.802s back.