\n<\/p>\n
Mercedes\u2019 George Russell set the pace in a first practice session at the Mexico City Grand Prix punctuated by a heavy crash for Williams\u2019 Alex Albon.<\/b><\/p>\n
Russell was 0.317 seconds quicker than Ferrari\u2019s Carlos Sainz, with RB\u2019s Yuki Tsunoda third from Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen, whose session ended early with an engine problem.<\/p>\n
Albon tangled with Ferrari young driver Oliver Bearman, driving Charles Leclerc\u2019s car for the session, and spun into the barriers at the Esses.<\/p>\n
Albon called Bearman an \u201cidiot\u201d over the team radio after the Williams, on a flying lap, came across the Ferrari on a slow lap on the racing line.<\/p>\n
The Ferrari engineers told Bearman over the radio that it was their fault, presumably for not warning him early enough of Albon\u2019s presence. The crash was investigated after the session but no further action was taken.<\/p>\n
“Both drivers agreed that Bearman’s positioning was not unreasonable,” the stewards said, “but was unfortunate because it was close to Albon’s line. All parties agreed it was a racing incident.”<\/p>\n
A number of race drivers did not take part in the session – Lewis Hamilton\u2019s car was driven by his 2025 replacement Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who was 12th fastest.<\/p>\n
McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris, Verstappen\u2019s title rival, also did not take part, handing his car to IndyCar driver Pato O\u2019Ward, who trialled a new floor the team have brought for this race after months of development.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Ward did not start the session with the new floor, but it was fitted for the final part of the hour.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso, celebrating his 400th grand prix this weekend, was replaced in first practice by reserve driver Felipe Drugovich, and Robert Schwartzman took over from Zhou Guanyu in the second Sauber, for whom Valtteri Bottas was eighth fastest.<\/p>\n
The mix of drivers meant the session gave few clues as to the competitive picture for the weekend. And the gaps between the leading cars suggest little of note can be gleaned so far.<\/p>\n
At Mercedes, Hamilton\u2019s car continues with the upgrades introduced last weekend in Austin, even though both he and Russell crashed at Turn 19 in the course of the weekend.<\/p>\n
Russell is using an older specification because he damaged his new parts with his qualifying crash.<\/p>\n
The second session will last for an hour and a half rather than the usual hour to allow time for a test of Pirelli\u2019s 2025 development tyres.<\/p>\n
Teams will have to do a short and long run on two sets of new tyres in addition to their preparation work for the weekend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n