MexicoGP
Carlos Sainz Sets the Fastest Time on Day 1 at the Mexico GP
Mexico City, 25 October 2024.- The Spaniard Carlos Sainz was the fastest driver on day one of the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix 2024 Presented by Heineken at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, setting a time of 1:17.699 during Practice 2.
Before a crowd of 107,865 fans, the Ferrari team driver was very consistent in his 34 laps around the 4.304-km track and became the man to beat in a session marked by a red flag and tyre tests as part of Pirelli’s development for the 2025 season.
With just 13 minutes left in the session, George Russell caught the kerb in the “esses” section, lost control of his Mercedes, and crashed into the barrier to bring out a red flag. The British driver was able to get out of the car on his own and was taken to the track’s medical centre for a routine check-up.
After a 23-minute pause while the barriers were being repaired, the drivers took back to the track to continue looking for the optimum setup.
The next best time after Sainz was clocked by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, 0.178 seconds behind, followed by RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, 0.179 seconds back (one thousandth of a second behind Piastri). Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Lando Norris (McLaren) set the fourth and fifth fastest times, respectively.
Rounding out the top 10 were Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Valtteri Bottas (Sauber), Mexico’s Sergio Perez (Red Bull), and Liam Lawson (RB).
The second free practice session lasted 90 minutes, 30 minutes longer than usual, with the last half hour devoted to Pirelli tyre testing as the manufacturer continues developing the compounds that will be used next season.
Max Verstappen was forced to stop his RB20 halfway through the session due to problems with the power unit, so he was not able to set a competitive time. The Argentinean Franco Colapinto, driving for Williams, set the 15th fastest time.
The first practice session was led by George Russell and saw four Latin drivers taking to the track: Sergio Perez, Franco Colapinto, Pato O’Ward (McLaren), and Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin). The session featured a significant number of reserve/test drivers, including Oliver Bearman (Ferrari), Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), and Robert Shwartzman (Sauber).
The session gave Pato an opportunity to support McLaren in his role as reserve and development driver. The British team currently leads the constructors’ championship. Pato did a total of 21 laps and made a favourable impression on the Woking team.
“I was only able to push hard for four or five laps. It was not enough, I was king of left wanting more,” said the Monterrey-born driver.
In FP1, Russell led from Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Yuki Tsunoda (RB) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull); Nico Hülkenberg (Haas) rounded out the top five. Checo finished 10th. Meanwhile, the fastest time among the reserve drivers was set by Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who finished 12th.
Support Races
In the morning, the on-track action was supplemented by practice and qualifying sessions for the GTM Super Cup, Masters Historic Racing, and Formula 4 NACAM Championship support categories.
Mexican Grand Prix ambassador Ivanna Richards put in an outstanding performance. The 16-year-old driver qualified 8th and 11th for the two races of the GTM Super Copa touring car category.
On Saturday, Practice 3 is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. local time, and qualifying will be held at 3:00 p.m.
Contacto de prensa:
INK PR
Alejandro Rodríguez
T. 55-5207-3330
Acerca del FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO Presentado por Heineken:
Históricamente premiado como el “Mejor Evento del Año” durante cinco carreras (2015 a 2019), el FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO Presentado por Heineken ha demostrado ser mucho más que un evento deportivo, se trata de una incomparable plataforma de promoción que comparte con el mundo las riquezas culturales y turísticas de la Ciudad de México.
Para mayor información del FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO Presentado por Heineken visita: http://www.mexicogp.mx/
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La compañía promueve y comercializa el FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO, produce eventos para el sector público y opera el parque de diversiones El Salitre Mágico en Colombia.
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