The impending climax in the title fight, coupled with growing discontent between their teams, means that the battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris is increasingly under scrutiny. A showdown is absent in the first free practice for the Grand Prix of Mexico; Norris does not participate. In a session marred by a severe crash, George Russell proves to be the fastest, while Verstappen struggles with engine problems and finishes fourth.
In the run-up to the first session of the weekend, the main topic of discussion in Mexico is McLaren’s ‘right to review’ announced on Thursday regarding Norris’s penalty in Austin. It is the latest jab in the fight that is also raging off the track between that team and Red Bull Racing. Before the second free practice, McLaren aims to convince the stewards of new evidence with the goal of having Norris’s penalty from the US Grand Prix overturned.
The case is causing quite a stir, even before the first session. That session, incidentally, is full of young drivers who are allowed to gain experience. These include Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes, replacing Hamilton), Robert Shwarzman (Sauber, replacing Zhou), Felipe Drugovic (Aston Martin, replacing Alonso), Pato O’Ward (McLaren, replacing Norris), and Oliver Bearman (Ferrari, replacing Leclerc).
The training session ends abruptly for the latter when Alexander Albon in the Williams comes into hard contact with him after exiting turn 9. The slow-moving Bearman manages to keep his Ferrari on the track, while Albon crashes hard into the tire barrier. Both drivers remain unharmed, but the crash results in a red flag.
Things go better for Verstappen, although there is considerable work done on his car at the beginning of the session. There is a momentary fear of severe damage to the floor, but it turns out to be less serious. Just before the red flag, he moves up to P4. After a long interruption, the pit lane light turns green again with 23 minutes remaining. This is the signal for many drivers to head out on the soft tire en masse.
On the fastest tire, Verstappen soon has to yield to Carlos Sainz and George Russell, before experiencing engine problems in the final phase of the training. “No power,” he reports over the radio. As a result, his session ends in the pit box, a few minutes earlier than planned. Russell remains the fastest, with Verstappen finishing at P4.
At McLaren, Oscar Piastri is somewhat disappointing. It will be revealed in the second free practice session of the day, around midnight, how Norris performs in that car. But before that session, McLaren and Norris face a battle with the stewards in an attempt to overturn his penalty from last week.
