Verstappen on top in Mexico first practice, Hamilton fifth

Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo dominated yesterday’s opening practice for this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix. The Dutchman, who is seeking to repeat his 2017 victory at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, clocked a fastest lap in one minute and 16.656 to outpace Ricciardo by 0.4 seconds.

Carlos Sainz was 1.2 seconds adrift, but third fastest, ahead of his Renault team-mate Nico Hulkenberg while the championship chasing Mercedes and Ferrari teams struggled to keep pace. The top four cars, significantly, were all powered by Renault engines – a rarity that endorsed the view that in the thin air of the 2,200-metres altitude circuit it will be mechanical grip and down-force that trumps power.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who needs to outscore Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by five points to take his fifth title, was fifth ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas with Vettel seventh and his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen eight. Vettel, needing to win to have any hope of stopping Hamilton’s coronation, was a full two seconds slower than Verstappen at the end of a challenging session that saw everyone struggling with tyres and tyre-wear on the ‘green’ surface of the circuit.

Hamilton complained of intermittent power issues, but was reassured by the team that there was nothing serious to worry about and Raikkonen, victorious in Texas last weekend, recovered from a spin.