Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Motorsport
Motorsport
Sport

2023 F1 Mexico GP results: Max Verstappen fastest in practice

Three-time world champion Verstappen was fastest in Free Practice 1, by 0.095s from Alex Albon’s Williams, and also paced FP2 with a fastest time of 1m18.686s.

Mexico GP FP1 results: Verstappen fastest from Albon

Cla Driver  Car / Engine   Time   Delay   Laps 
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'19.718   29
23 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1'19.813 0.095 31
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'20.015 0.297 28
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'20.237 0.519 30
16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'20.297 0.579 30
81 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1'20.463 0.745 32
55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'20.479 0.761 23
3 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'20.568 0.850 30
31 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'20.677 0.959 26
10  18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'20.687 0.969 26
11  44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'20.724 1.006 25
12  27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'20.968 1.250 29
13  24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'21.129 1.411 27
14  2 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1'21.157 1.439 30
15  50 Ollie Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1'21.313 1.595 31
16  14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'21.347 1.629 17
17  41 Isack Hadjar AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'21.941 2.223 25
18  61 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 1'22.109 2.391 25
19  42 Frederik Vesti Mercedes 1'22.937 3.219 26
20  98 Théo Pourchaire Alfa Romeo/Ferrari - - 4

What happened in Mexico GP Free Practice 1?

Drivers used Pirelli’s prototype tyres in the early part of the session, with Verstappen leading the way on 1m21.858s, half a second clear of Daniel Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri and Albon.

They then switched to mediums after 15 minutes, with Verstappen again setting the pace on 1m20.245s, but just 0.004s ahead of Albon.

Teams then went on to the soft tyres for their final runs, with Verstappen lapping in 1m19.718s to beat Albon by 0.095s. The second Red Bull, of home hero Sergio Perez, was third fastest, two tenths off the pace. Lando Norris (McLaren) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) were next up.

Five young drivers took part in this session, with Oliver Bearman impressing with the 15th quickest time for Haas, ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin. Isack Hadjar was 17th for AlphaTauri, ahead of Jack Doohan (Alpine) and Frederik Vesti (Mercedes).

Theo Pourchaire drove Valtteri Bottas’s Alfa Romeo, but a brake problem meant he didn’t record a timed lap.

Mexico GP FP2 results: Verstappen fastest from Norris

Cla Driver  Car / Engine   Time   Delay   Laps 
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'18.686   26
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'18.805 0.119 31
16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'18.952 0.266 33
77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'18.955 0.269 33
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'18.988 0.302 29
3 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'19.002 0.316 31
44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'19.024 0.338 30
31 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'19.077 0.391 29
81 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1'19.163 0.477 31
10  63 George Russell Mercedes 1'19.227 0.541 31
11  55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'19.257 0.571 34
12  22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'19.290 0.604 34
13  24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'19.415 0.729 27
14  23 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1'19.446 0.760 23
15  27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'19.535 0.849 29
16  10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1'19.642 0.956 29
17  2 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1'19.900 1.214 26
18  18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'20.075 1.389 17
19  20 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1'20.112 1.426 30
20  14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'20.426 1.740 30

What happened in Mexico GP Free Practice 2?

As per FP1, drivers started their running on the prototype tyres, with Albon pipping Verstappen for the fastest time by 0.01s at 1m20.075s.

As they switched to medium running, Verstappen reset the bar to 1m19.551s – the fastest lap of the weekend to that point – before he obliterated that with 1m18.686s on softs just before the halfway mark.

Norris was second quickest, 0.119s down, from Leclerc, Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Perez and Ricciardo. Albon slumped to 14th in this session on softs, and appeared to damage the floor of his car.

Teams rushed through their programs, as rain was forecast towards the end of the session.

Alonso suffered a huge spin through the Esses without hitting anything. He ended FP2 with the slowest time, however.

shares
comments
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.