Mexico City GP: Carlos Sainz tops Ferrari one-two in Practice One as F1 hits track after Red Bull saga

Carlos Sainz fastest for Ferrari but top six split by 0.2s in Mexico; Two red flags after reliability issues for stand-ins Pietro Fittipaldi and Liam Lawson; Session took place hours after Red Bull were finally handed punishment for cost cap breach

Carlos Sainz led a one-two for Ferrari in an ultra-close opening practice for the Mexico City GP, as Formula 1 returned to on-track competitiveness after Red Bull’s off-track saga was finally settled.

Hours after Red Bull were handed their punishment for breaching F1’s cost cap in Max Verstappen’s title-winning 2021 season – handed a $7m fine and a reduction in car development – it was Ferrari who sped to the front ahead of the newly-crowned world champions.

Sainz led the way with a 1:20.707, 0.046s ahead of Charles Leclerc at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

But there was barely anything to split the top five, which included Lewis Hamilton.

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Max Verstappen spun his Red Bull out of control during P1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez and Verstappen had identical times for Red Bull, 0.120s off Sainz, while Hamilton was only two hundredths further back in a Mercedes car that is tipped to compete for a first win of the season in Mexico..

Verstappen, aiming for a record-breaking 14th victory of 2022 this weekend, had a spin in the middle sector during a scruffier-than-usual session, complaining of “no grip in his Red Bull”.

Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, was also within two tenths of the Ferrari benchmark in the Alpine.

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Opening practice in Mexico came to an early end after AlphaTauri reserve driver Liam Lawson saw his brakes catch on fire.

The session – a crucial one with F1 undergoing more tyre testing in a longer Practice Two later on Friday – also saw two red flags, with two of the rookies taking part seeing their track action cut short.

First, Pietro Fittipaldi, filling in for Haas, had an engine failure, before AlphaTauri’s stand-in Liam Lawson had a similar reliability issue late on.

Elsewhere, Logan Sargeant, Nyck De Vries and Jack Doohan finished 17th, 18th, and 19th for Williams, Mercedes and Alpine respectively. Sargeant and De Vries will be on the F1 grid full-time next season.

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Zhou Guanyu’s car had to be dragged back into the pits before Haas teammate Pietro Fittipaldi brought out the red flag after suffering an engine failure.

More to follow.