Honda satisfied with first day: 'Showing good pace'

Max Verstappen showed during the first two free practices of the Mexican Grand Prix that he can handle the role of favourite. The Dutchman set respectively the third and the first time, which pleased Toyoharu Tanabe.

At the Honda website Honda Racing Formula One boss let it be known that he was happy with his teams. "With such a great atmosphere, it was positive that all four cars, from Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri got through their programmes in both sessions with no major problems, while showing good pace. As this circuit is at high altitude above sea level, it requires different PU settings to usual, so we will now analyse the data gathered over the two hours of track time to optimise everything for tomorrow across both teams."

Tsunoda starts from the back

Where Red Bull are om their way to a great weekend with seemingly two podium finishes, things are different at AlphaTauri. This is because Yuki Tsnoda decided with his team to change his engine, so he will start the race at the back.

"We chose to fit a new PU to Yuki’s car based on considerations relating to performance and reliability for the rest of season," explained Tanabe. "He therefore starts from the back on Sunday, but looking at his pace in free practice, we can expect him to move up the order in the race."