MEXICO CITY – Max Verstappen laid down the gauntlet by topping the practice charts for the Mexican Grand Prix Friday at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Verstappen paced practice with a 1:17.301, which came during the second of two practice sessions Friday afternoon. Valtteri Bottas was second, nearly a half second off the pace set by Verstappen.
“It was quite a good day for us as a team, of course we are always trying to improve and make the car better but overall, it’s looking pretty good,” Verstappen said. “The track was very dirty in FP1 which made it quite difficult for us but FP2 was much better. It’s always difficult to know how we are going to perform in qualifying after Friday practice, and there are quite a few things to look at to improve performance. It’s been a positive start and we have a good feeling as a team heading into the weekend.”
Lewis Hamilton was third fastest as he continues his pursuit of Verstappen in the Formula 1 standings. Sergio Perez was fourth, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. completing the top-five overall in practice.