Max Verstappen has gotten off to a fast start in Mexico, topping the timesheets in FP2 on the opening day of the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2021.

For hometown hero Sergio Perez it was a trickier start, with a small shunt in FP1 compromising his day.

Max Verstappen

First Practice Session: 1:18.464, Position: 3, Laps: 28

Second Practice Session: 1:17.301, Position: 1, Laps: 28

“It was quite a good day for us as a Team, of course we are always trying to improve and make the car better but overall, it’s looking pretty good. The track was very dirty in FP1 which made it quite difficult for us but FP2 was much better. It’s always difficult to know how we are going to perform in qualifying after Friday practice, and there are quite a few things to look at to improve performance. It’s been a positive start and we have a good feeling as a Team heading into the weekend.”

Sergio Perez

First Practice Session: 1:18.610, Position: 4, Laps: 20

Second Practice Session: 1:17.871, Position: 4, Laps: 26

“I think we didn’t lose that much progress today, despite the shunt in FP1. It was a shame we damaged the car and we gave a little bit of extra work to the boys in the garage but other than that incident it was a positive day. I am feeling more comfortable on the long runs than over one lap, so I think there is still the potential to improve the car on the short runs. I have one more session to work on them and my target is to be on that front row tomorrow. The margins are going to be very close in qualifying to the Mercedes but hopefully we can lock out that front row. I don’t think it has been a representative day in terms of predicting qualifying, tomorrow everything will be even closer, and it will be interesting to see how we all line up. The fans have been incredible already, it is great to look around and have so much support here, everyone is being so enthusiastic and is pushing me to go faster. Every time I stop the car, I can hear the crowd and it’s only Friday!”