It’s time for the first official outing of Season 10 in Mexico City! Or so we thought… The start of the first practise session of the year was delayed by 15 minutes. It was not the best beginning of the season for McLaren’s latest signing Sam Bird, who was forced to miss the first half of the session due to a car failure.
The first drivers out on track were new Envision teammates Sebastien Buemi and Robin Frijns, with ABT’s Nico Muller setting the early best benchmark in 1:17.20s alongside both Maserati drivers Gunther and Daruvala.
Robin Frijns had a moment at Turn 1, running slightly wide off track, moments before the first red flag of the year was issued due to Maxi Gunther hitting the barriers and stopping on track at the start line. The German driver also mentioned damage to his suspensions with 20 minutes to go in the session.
Mitch Evans leads the timings with a 1:15.617s, followed by Vergne and Buemi, as the Jaguar-powered teams appears to be determined to start 2024 in the same dominant way they had ended the previous season.
The session was restarted with 13 minutes left, after the removal of the Maserati challenger stuck on track, and Bird is finally able to join his colleagues. A ten minutes extension of the allowed running time was granted in order to make up for what was lost in the recovery operations.
Evans still was in the lead with fifteen minutes to go, but he has been joined on the provisional podium by Fenestraz and reigning champion Jake Dennis.
Four drivers are under investigation: Sergio Sette Camara for speeding in the pit lane, Norman Nato for overpower and Vandoorne and Cassidy for Attack Charge Procedure
Many drivers are putting in fast times and adapting to a track temperature similar to the one that they will encounter tomorrow during the race. On the other end, FP2 will be held in the very early morning in local time, making for cooler conditions.
With ten minutes to go Pascal Wehrlein is leading in 1:14.740 from last year’s winner Dennis and Evans. A consistent effort has bene put in by both Nissan drivers, with Fenestraz and Rowland in P5 and P6.
Jake Hughes took the provisional lead but crashed at Turn 1 on the following lap, issuing the second red flag of the day, thus effectively ending the day in Mexico City. The McLaren driver lost his rear after entering the turn with a bit too much speed.
Photo credits: Neom McLaren
Hughes’s previous lap in 1:14.36s, ahead of Wehrlein and a surprising Muller for ABT, the team last in the their standings in 2023. Frijns and Dennis round off the top five, followed by Da Costa, Evans, Fenestraz, Rowland and Nato
