Mexico City GP: Carlos Sainz tops Ferrari one-two in Practice One as F1 hits track after Red Bull saga

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Carlos Sainz fastest for Ferrari but top six split by 0.2s in Mexico; Two red flags after reliability issues for stand-ins Pietro Fittipaldi and Liam Lawson; Session took place hours after Red Bull were finally handed punishment for cost cap breach

Last Updated: 10/28/22 8:51pm

Carlos Sainz led a one-two for Ferrari in an ultra-close opening practice for the Mexico City GP, as Formula 1 returned to on-track competitiveness after Red Bull’s off-track saga was finally settled.

Hours after Red Bull were handed their punishment for breaching F1’s cost cap in Max Verstappen’s title-winning 2021 season – handed a $7m fine and a reduction in car development – it was Ferrari who sped to the front ahead of the newly-crowned world champions .

Sainz led the way with a 1:20.707, 0.046s ahead of Charles Leclerc at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

But there was barely anything to split the top five, which included Lewis Hamilton.

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Max Verstappen spun his Red Bull out of control during P1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix

Max Verstappen spun his Red Bull out of control during P1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix

Sergio Perez and Verstappen had identical times for Red Bull, 0.120s off Sainz, while Hamilton was only two hundredths further back in a Mercedes car that is tipped to compete for a first win of the season in Mexico.

Verstappen, aiming for a record-breaking 14th victory of 2022 this weekend, had a spin in the middle sector during a scruffier-than-usual session, complaining of “no grip in his Red Bull”.

Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, was also within two tenths of the Ferrari benchmark in the Alpine.

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Opening practice in Mexico came to an early end after AlphaTauri reserve driver Liam Lawson saw his brakes catch on fire

Opening practice in Mexico came to an early end after AlphaTauri reserve driver Liam Lawson saw his brakes catch on fire

The session – a crucial one with F1 undergoing more tire testing in a longer practice Two later on Friday – also saw two red flags, with two of the rookies taking part seeing their track action cut short.

First, Pietro Fittipaldi, filling in for Haas, had an engine failure, before AlphaTauri’s stand-in Liam Lawson had a similar reliability issue late on.

Elsewhere, Logan Sargeant, Nyck De Vries and Jack Doohan finished 17th, 18th, and 19th for Williams, Mercedes and Alpine respectively. Sargeant and De Vries will be on the F1 grid full-time next season.

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Zhou Guanyu’s car had to be dragged back into the pits before Haas team-mate Pietro Fittipaldi brought out the red flag after suffering an engine failure

Zhou Guanyu’s car had to be dragged back into the pits before Haas team-mate Pietro Fittipaldi brought out the red flag after suffering an engine failure

Brundle: Red Bull punishment ‘about right’

Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle

“I think it’s about right, perhaps slightly light. I think there are mitigating circumstances as Christian (Horner) has pointed out.

“There are no winners in this, it’s messy. It is one year of these regulations and you’d expect if they were over the limit next year, they would have to be doubled down on really, really hard.

Mexico City GP Practice One Timesheet Driver Team Time 1) Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:20.707 2) Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.046 3) Sergio Perez Red Bull +0.120 4) Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.120 5) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.142 6) Fernando Alonso Alpine +0.192 7) Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +0.376 8) Lando Norris McLaren +0.413 9) Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri +0.603 10) Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin +0.818 11) Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +1.055 12) Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo +1.113 13 ) Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.158 14) Mick Schumacher Haas +1.245 15) Nicholas Latifi Williams +2.205 16) Liam Lawson AlphaTauri +3.154 17) Logan Sargeant Williams +3.539 18) Nyck De Vries Mercedes +3.875 19) Jack Doohan Alpine +3.908 20) Pietro Fittipaldi Haas +6.059

“Of course, anybody else who breaches it, will have to be treated as equally hard as this one has been.

“It will hurt them but they’re starting with a very good car, it’s CFD as well, the digital computerized wind tunnel as well.

“They’ll just have to make sure that when they go to the wind tunnel, they’re acing it and making the most of each run. Clearly, it will hurt them developing through next year and so it should.”

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