Bottas tops the timetables for FP1 on return to Mexico

Valterri Bottas has finished in P1 at the end of FP1 here in Mexico with a benchmark time of 1:18.076 as he and his teammate Lewis Hamilton look ready for the fight this weekend against the favorites Red Bull. 

As we headed into the first session of weekend number 18 of this enthralling Formula 1 the buzz of being back in Mexico was filling the F1 paddock and the living rooms of those watching at home. 

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a stunning track set into the backdrop of Mexico City and always provides plenty of entertainment for the fans watching around the world. 

How it unfolded 

With the highest altitude of the season, the unpredictability of Mexico can make predicting the outcome of a car's performance tricky. From the start of the session, like a rainbow, there was an array of different tires being used by teams. 

Mercedes had opted from the start to send both their drivers out on the soft compound tires whereas Red Bull favored the hards. The early running was tentative from all drivers as they settled into the dusty conditions on track with the top times sitting in the low 1:20's for both Hamilton and Verstappen. 

Looking forward to his home race Sergio Perez was looking forward to getting his car out on track and showing the Mexican crowd what he can do but his start to the session did not go as planned as he spun his Red Bull coming out of the Stadium section, causing an early entry back into the pits. 

As the rubber picked up on track the times began to fall. Mercedes looked to have the edge early on but of course, running on a softer compound. Once a set of soft was put onto Verstappen's car it was far more of a level playing field. The Dutchman put his Red into the top spot with a 1:18.4 but it wasn't enough to beat the Mercs come the end of the session. 

Both Bottas and Hamilton were looking strong and cementing Mercedes's place as a serious threat to Red Bull for the weekend. 

Looking down the grid though and things weren't looking good for McLaren in their fight against Ferrari on the leaderboard as both Norris and Ricciardo failed to make it into the top ten whereas their rivals looked more reliable finishing in P6 and P7 respectively. 

The session finished with the Mercs on top but we will wait to see the true pace of the cars later on today.