Hamilton over Leclerc in opening Mexican GP Practice

Hamilton in the stadium section
Hamilton in the stadium section

In a session that started wet and that saw no drivers venturing out early, when the track finally dried several drivers took turns at the top before Lewis Hamilton went quickest late in the session and stayed there with a lap of 1m17.327s in his Mercedes.

Charles Leclerc was 2nd quick for Ferrari 0.119s back and the winner the last two years here in Mexico City, Max Verstappen was close 0.134s behind Hamilton in his Red Bull.

Alexander Albon went 4th quick in the 2nd Red Bull followed by Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel in 5th and 6th.

On a weekend when the reigning world champion can seal another title, it is a pretty good start. But the Silver Arrows won't be celebrating wildly just yet, as they will be aware that Leclerc finished only 0.119s off their man, and on the much slower tire compound.

Racing Point's Lance Stroll wadded up his Racing Point. He crashed into the wall on the stadium exit and replays showed he just got out of shape on entry to the corner and slide sideways into the wall. No run off area there either.

Practice 1 Results

POS NO DRIVER CAR TIME GAP LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:17.327 +0.000s 25
2 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:17.446 +0.119s 23
3 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing Honda 1:17.461 +0.134s 17
4 23 Alexander Albon Red Bull Racing Honda 1:17.949 +0.622s 21
5 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:18.005 +0.678s 25
6 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:18.218 +0.891s 20
7 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren Renault 1:18.401 +1.074s 21
8 10 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 1:18.593 +1.266s 23
9 26 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 1:18.835 +1.508s 27
10 99 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari 1:18.959 +1.632s 22
11 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:19.011 +1.684s 22
12 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:19.013 +1.686s 22
13 7 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari 1:19.205 +1.878s 22
14 4 Lando Norris McLaren Renault 1:19.299 +1.972s 23
15 3 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:19.499 +2.172s 23
16 18 Lance Stroll Racing Point Bwt Mercedes 1:19.679 +2.352s 21
17 11 Sergio Perez Racing Point Bwt Mercedes 1:19.717 +2.390s 23
18 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:19.850 +2.523s 22
19 63 George Russell Williams Mercedes 1:20.548 +3.221s 26
20 40 Nicholas Latifi Williams Mercedes 1:21.566 +4.239s 30