Mexico – Free Practice 1: Hamilton reassures himself, Rosberg gets off to a shaky start
After a very cool session, Hamilton set the fastest time with a 1"20"914, with Rosberg a distant 7th. Behind Hamilton, Ferrari proved to be the closest team, with Vettel less than a tenth behind and Räikkönen hot on his heels. Like Rosberg, Red Bull seems to be lagging behind. Temperatures were disrupting tire performance, and the phenomenon became even more pronounced at the end of the first practice session.
12°C in the air, 19°C on the track, suffice it to say it’s not warm in Mexico on this Friday morning, local time. The out lap served for the first drivers to clean the track, laden with a lot of dust. On the schedule for this first session, a new test of the Halo, Pascal Wehrlein, Sergio Pérez, Felipe Nasr, and Kevin Magnussen completed their out lap fitted with the protection system in development.
A lot of action in the garages but very little on track at the beginning of the session, as the weather conditions seemed to cool the drivers’ ambitions. Approaching the quarter-hour mark of the session, Esteban Ocon was alone on track, surveying the circuit to learn the corners and details, also sweeping the track, which was still heavily dust-laden. He set the initial benchmark at 1’28″842, quickly surpassed by Alonso with a 1’26″398 and then improved to 1’25″933.
Things settled shortly before the first third of the session, and the timesheet filled up nicely but remained incomplete. Kimi Räikkönen and Pascal Wehrlein were still absent. After 30 minutes of the session, Hamilton was at the top of the table with 1’21″633, ahead of Rosberg by 213 thousandths, Pérez held the 3rd fastest time. Behind, Bottas and Verstappen completed the top 5, Ricciardo 6th ahead of Vettel, Sainz, and Massa, Kvyat closed the top 10. Beyond that, Nasr, Button, Grosjean, Hülkenberg, Magnussen, and Ericsson were in the top 16. At the very bottom of the table were Alonso, Gutierrez, Palmer, and Ocon. Räikkönen and Wehrlein still had no reference for this session.
Felipe Nasr, with a Sauber fitted with the Halo, persistently ran over a curb, and his severely damaged front wing broke under aerodynamic pressure on the straight leading to the Foro Sol stadium, causing a flag to clean the track. For a few minutes, the circuit was plunged back into silence.
.@FelipeNasr safely back into pits and undergoing repairs #MexicoGP 🇲🇽 #F1 pic.twitter.com/7iYiWr8SjJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 octobre 2016
Race scene upon returning to the track, Räikkönen was in Massa’s diffuser, while at the same time the Finn was closely (too closely) followed by Carlos Sainz. In the pits, the rear brakes of Verstappen’s Red Bull were overheating and smoking heavily, so the mechanics used extinguishers for safety to prevent any fire outbreak.
At mid-session, there were few changes in the timing sheet due to the red flag caused a few minutes earlier. We remind you that during Free Practice, the red flag interrupts the session for the drivers, but the clock keeps running.
#FP1 PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (After 45 mins): @SChecoPerez giving his fans something to cheer #MexicoGP 🇲🇽 #F1 pic.twitter.com/uvgPVgXaFb
— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 octobre 2016
After setting a better time with soft tires in the first part of the session, Hamilton returned to the track with medium tires. After two slower initial sectors, the Briton performed better in the final sector and even improved his best time by a tenth with 1’21″527. Rosberg, in his quest for the best lap time, closed in on Hamilton, with only 146 thousandths separating them. Mercedes responded with humor after another improvement from Hamilton.
#FP1 for @LewisHamilton so far:
Drops in a 1:20.914 on mediums…
Rolls out like…#F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/vs5h3qwLy0
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 28 octobre 2016
As the session entered its final third, the track, like the drivers, had warmed up, and improvements were being made. Daniil Kvyat got caught out at the first braking point, with the Russian spinning 180 degrees in the runoff area.
Hamilton maintained the top of the timesheet with a 1’20″914, behind him Pérez and Vettel joined the party, with Hülkenberg and Bottas completing the top 5. Rosberg found himself only 6th just ahead of Ricciardo. Massa, Kvyat, Grosjean filled the first half of the standings. In the second half, there were Sainz, Verstappen, Gutierrez, Räikkönen, Alonso, and Button for the top 16 and Magnussen, Nasr, Ocon, Palmer, Ericsson, and Wehrlein were at the rear.
As the session ended, the rain had come onto the track but remained very light, barely noticeable.
At the checkered flag, the standings are set. Hamilton places ahead of Vettel and Räikkönen. Pérez and Hülkenberg deliver a strong performance by both finishing in the top 5. Bottas outmaneuvers Rosberg for 6th place. Ricciardo, Massa, and Kvyat complete the top 10.
Romain Grosjean is 11th ahead of Sainz, Ericsson, Verstappen, deprived of a good part of the session after his rear brakes overheated, remained stuck in 14th place. Gutierrez and Alonso complete the top 16, beyond which we find Nasr, Button, Magnussen, Ocon, Palmer, and Wehrlein.
#FP1 PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF SESSION): So far, so good for @LewisHamilton, @ScuderiaFerrari and @ForceIndiaF1 #MexicoGP 🇲🇽 #F1 pic.twitter.com/MIpL4Watm4
— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 octobre 2016
