Valtteri Bottas set the pace in the first practice session for the Mexican Grand Prix, breaking the previous track record as he did.
The Mercedes driver beat the previous record, set by his team mate Lewis Hamilton last year, by over eight-tenths of a second on the ultra-soft tyres. The pair ended the session one-two, separated by less than half a second.
The Ferrari pair were next, Sebastian Vettel ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, the latter spinning in the second half of the session. He ended up pointing the wrong way at the same time Force India’s test driver Alfonso Celis had a crash of his own.
Celis hit the wall at turn 17, spinning backwards into the barrier and causing rear damage to the VJM10 which will be raced by Es teban Ocon. That brought out the red flags while the track was cleared.
Sergio Perez in the other Force India was the quickest driver outside the ‘big six’. Fernando Alonso, who was told during the sesison he had strong pace, came eighth. However the other McLaren was confined to the pits after the team discovered a problem on his car.
Another driver who hit trouble during the session was Brendon Hartley when his Toro Rosso’s power unit failed. He was able to restart the engine using the MGU-K and returned back to the pits but did not run any further.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’17.824 | 42 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’18.290 | 0.466 | 35 |
| 3 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 1’18.395 | 0.571 | 16 |
| 4 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 1’18.421 | 0.597 | 28 |
| 5 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’18.586 | 0.762 | 28 |
| 6 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’19.008 | 1.184 | 27 |
| 7 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’19.240 | 1.416 | 21 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Honda | 1’19.346 | 1.522 | 20 |
| 9 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1’19.443 | 1.619 | 32 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’19.552 | 1.728 | 19 |
| 11 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Renault | 1’19.554 | 1.730 | 24 |
| 12 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams-Mercedes | 1’19.772 | 1.948 | 34 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’20.644 | 2.820 | 16 |
| 14 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’20.971 | 3.147 | 30 |
| 15 | 50 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Haas-Ferrari | 1’21.269 | 3.445 | 26 |
| 16 | 37 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’21.446 | 3.622 | 28 |
| 17 | 38 | Sean Gelael | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’21.639 | 3.815 | 29 |
| 18 | 28 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’21.747 | 3.923 | 10 |
| 19 | 34 | Alfonso Celis | Force India-Mercedes | 1’22.342 | 4.518 | 17 |
First practice visual gaps
Valtteri Bottas – 1’17.824
+0.466 Lewis Hamilton – 1’18.290
+0.571 Max Verstappen – 1’18.395
+0.597 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’18.421
+0.762 Sebastian Vettel – 1’18.586
+1.184 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’19.008
+1.416 Sergio Perez – 1’19.240
+1.522 Fernando Alonso – 1’19.346
+1.619 Felipe Massa – 1’19.443
+1.728 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’19.552
+1.730 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’19.554
+1.948 Lance Stroll – 1’19.772
+2.820 Kevin Magnussen – 1’20.644
+3.147 Pascal Wehrlein – 1’20.971
+3.445 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’21.269
+3.622 Charles Leclerc – 1’21.446
+3.815 Sean Gelael – 1’21.639
+3.923 Brendon Hartley – 1’21.747
+4.518 Alfonso Celis – 1’22.342
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
Hugh (@hugh11)
27th October 2017, 17:35
Hartley slower than Gelael? Did he have a a problem or?
nase
27th October 2017, 17:41
Hartley had an engine problem and could only manage 10 laps, including a run with the halo. But Gelael’s pace during his long run was comparable to Verstappen’s.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
27th October 2017, 17:54
hahaha
Kie
27th October 2017, 18:22
Haha, course it was
nase
27th October 2017, 18:45
@hahostolze @ Kie
I’m joking, of course.
TribalTalker (@tribaltalker)
27th October 2017, 19:52
Comparable to Jos Verstappen’s pace?
Strontium (@strontium)
27th October 2017, 17:50
It was one tenth in FP1, so I don’t think it’s anything to draw a comparison from
Bruno cascimiro (@bcoliver)
27th October 2017, 17:43
Bottas logged 42 laps, that’s a lot of laps.
f12007v (@f1fan-2000)
27th October 2017, 17:50
Nice finally bottas has returned to the form he should be in
Tom
27th October 2017, 18:03
Times don’t tell the whole story as he set his time before the red flag whereas others had to do theirs after. Still it is nice to see him top a session and it’s a solid session from him. If he can get pole or at least fight for it at the last few races it would really help him for 2018.
mark jackson
27th October 2017, 18:17
I don’t think Bottas has returned to form. I think Lewis has backed off now that the championship is more or less wrapped up, like he admitted to doing 2015.
RetardedF1sh (@retardedf1sh)
27th October 2017, 18:30
Lewis didn’t back off at the end of 2015, he just said he did. It was all part of the mind games he and Nico played on each other. He wanted Nico’s wins seem less deserved. Lewis is not the kind of driver who would just back off because he has already won the championship. He wants to win every race. He won’t settle for 2nd place if he has a chance to win.
digitalrurouni
27th October 2017, 19:04
Gonna have to disagree with you there with all due respect. His whole jetsetting lifestyle took a bigger jump more than usual and his partying cause him to crash his one of a kind 760LH Pagani in Monaco as well. And if you look from 2015 to 2016 Nico just about destroyed him in 7 races back to back. He had totally let off on the gas.
cm (@cm-cm)
27th October 2017, 19:48
@retardedf1sh
I also disagree… I’ve always admired lewis’s ability to back off on a final race where he has already taken then championship. Of course he could be playing games…
The complete opposite of vettel… who would go for a fastest lap on the last lap…
I respect both traits, for different reasons.
Michael Brown (@)
27th October 2017, 18:00
How do top speeds compare to 2016?
nase
27th October 2017, 18:09
A bit slower at the moment. Bottas did 354 kph. I can’t find the speed trap from last year’s FP, but qualifying was 365 and the race 371.
Rahman (@arahman93)
27th October 2017, 18:28
More drag this year i dont think we shall see high top speed this year but you never know
Aaditya (@neutronstar)
27th October 2017, 19:01
@mbr-9 Sorry this is unrelated to F1, but I can’t help but notice that you’re a fellow Danganronpa fan. :)
Michael Brown (@)
27th October 2017, 23:29
@neuronstar Nice to meet you, too! There should be a racing driver in the next game, if there is one.
Michael Brown (@)
28th October 2017, 3:41
@neutronstar
Johnny H.
27th October 2017, 18:48
When Bottas is “fast” it’s obvious everyone else is sandbagging!
Jere (@jerejj)
27th October 2017, 19:20
Already in FP1 almost a second faster than last season’s pole time.
Blazzz
27th October 2017, 19:25
Here’s a thought. In the race, BOT P1; Lewis P2 and Vettel right up Hamilton’s gearbox in P3. BOT slower of the two Mercs, compromising Hamilton who is under threat from VET behind who you know is going to leave no prisoners, but at the same time you know all you need is P5. Meanwhile, VERS, RIC and Kimi are on alternative 2/3 stop strategies and are catching the leading trio at close to a second a lap. You’re Toto Wolff/Lauda. What call would you make?
dutchtreat (@dutchtreat)
27th October 2017, 19:36
I would call Jennifer Lawrence and ask her for a date.
Gabriel (@naylamp)
27th October 2017, 21:06
hahaha, +1000. I just dropped my coffee. nice one.