Max Verstappen fourth quickest in Mexico FP1

Published on 28 October 2022 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen opened his Mexican Grand Prix weekend with fourth place in the first Friday practice session. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, lapped the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez quickest, followed by team mate Charles Leclerc. Max’ Oracle Red Bull Racing colleague, Sergio Perez, completed the top three.  

Within in two minutes of FP1 starting, all drivers are out on track. Among them are a few FP1 stand-ins. At Haas, Pietro Fittipaldi occupies Kevin Magnussen’s seat, Williams run Logan Sargeant instead of Alex Albon, Liam Lawson steers Yuki Tsunoda’s Alpha Tauri and Nick de Vries drives George Russell’s Mercedes.  

When Max heads out, he does so on a set of the hard Pirelli compound as well as sporting his new helmet with a special double world champion design. he will run the gold-themed helmet for the remainder of the season. After a stint of nine laps on the hards, the Dutchman switches to softs as the halfway mark of the session approaches. 

Max looks to be clocking the fastest lap of the session thus far, but a spin in turn eleven means he aborts his first effort on the grippy softs. His second attempt is more successful, and his best time of the session, a 1:20.827, grants him P4. 

Moments later, the first red flag of the session is waved, following Fittipaldi’s Haas coming to a standstill in between turns one and two due to power unit issues. After the stricken Haas is retrieved, FP1 resumes with fifteen minutes left. 

Sadly for Liam Lawson, Fittipaldi is not the only driver with technical issues; the Formula 2 driver’s Alpha Tauri also suffers engine issues and strands in the stadium section, prompting race control to red flag and end the opening practice session. 

Contest GP Mexico: win a by Max Verstappen signed blue RBR Driver Cap 2022! 

Results first free practice Mexico: