Mercedes is fastest in first practice
The track is dusty as the 1st free practice session of the 2021 Mexican GP begins. Because of all that dust, the drivers can’t find much grip yet. Leclerc and Pérez discover in quick succession that you can quickly lose control. First Leclerc spins, after which he slides into the wall with the back of his car. Pérez does the exact same thing a minute later. Both drivers drive into the pit lane under their own power, but have extensive damage to the rear wing.
It can also be seen in the times that the drivers still have to drive into the track. The cars go faster and faster around the track as the dust disappears and more rubber hits the tarmac.
The times of Red Bull and Mercedes are difficult to compare in this training. The Mercedes mainly drive on the soft tires, while Verstappen drives most of the time on hard tires and Pérez spends a large part of the session in the garage due to his earlier crash.
Due to the soft tires, the Mercedes set the two fastest times. Bottas is just a little faster than his teammate. Verstappen is one tenth behind, but has completed his fast lap a lot earlier in training than Bottas and Hamilton. The further training sessions will therefore tell us more about the relationship between Mercedes and Red Bull.
1st free practice of the 2021 Mexican GP
01. Valtteri Bottas
02. Lewis Hamilton
03. Max Verstappen
04. Sergio Perez
05. Pierre Gasly
Dates and times of the 2021 Mexican GP
Friday November 5, 2021
2nd free practice: 10pm – 11pm
Saturday November 6, 2021
3rd free practice: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Qualification: 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Sunday 7 November 2021
Race: 8:00 PM
