F1 Mexican Grand Prix LIVE: Practice updates and lap times in Mexico City

The two-time world champion goes for a bit of a spin in sector two but manages to keep his Aston Martin out of the wall!

Oscar Piastri now top of the leaderboard, as the times start to tumble with the pack switching to soft tyres.

Who saw this coming?! It’s 39C but it has started spitting in Mexico City!

Very light so far, but Max Verstappen confirms it on team radio.

Nevertheless, the Dutchman is top of the timesheets with a 1:20:085 in the first 10 minutes, with Lando Norris 0.024 secs off in second. Alex Albon is third, 0.273 secs off P1.

4-10: Leclerc, Ricciardo, Sainz, Zhou, Perez, Sargeant, Piastri

Time for second practice to get underway in Mexico City!

It’s also the first running of the day for George Russell, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas after they were absent from FP1 due to their cars being taken by rookies.

Can anyone topple Max Verstappen? Alex Albon’s Williams was the closest man earlier!

There is also a threat of rain in this session…

Exclusive interview by Kieran Jackson

As often was the case amid an American society embedded in racism in the 1980s, Muhammad Ali put it best. Advising black racing driver Willy T Ribbs, the people’s champion made his point in no uncertain terms: “There are Blacks in my sport. But there are no Blacks in your sport. They’re going to want to kill you.”

Yet for all the death threats, discrimination and abuse, Ribbs had long decided that the only option was to meet the uphill battle head-on. He made history in 1986 when he became the first Black driver to test an F1 car. Five years later, he was the first to race in the Indy 500, one of the world’s most famous events.

But on the course of that journey, Ribbs faced it all. Don’t let me tell you though; let the man himself.

1) Red Bull – 706 points (champions)

5) Aston Martin – 236 points

8) Alfa Romeo – 16 points

10) AlphaTauri – 10 points

Max Verstappen has told the boo brigade to show him some respect as the triple world champion prepares to enter the lion’s den at Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.

Verstappen has beefed up his security for Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez’s home race at the high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez venue in Mexico City.

Verstappen, who was jeered by Perez’s supporters a week ago in Austin, Texas, is prepared for another hostile reception this weekend – and he will be flanked by multiple security guards in the paddock.

Lewis Hamilton has claimed there were multiple drivers who should have been disqualified from last weekend’s United States Grand Prix for running an illegal car.

Hamilton was stripped of his second place after the floor on his upgraded Mercedes failed a post-race scrutineering check.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished sixth, was also kicked out of the classification for an identical breach.

But Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who claimed his 15th win of the season, and the McLaren of Lando Norris, elevated to second following Hamilton’s penalty, were both cleared of any wrongdoing.

However, speaking ahead of this weekend’s race in Mexico City, Hamilton said: “I heard from several sources that there were a lot of other cars that were illegal and they were not tested so they got away with it.”

1) Max Verstappen – 466 points (champion)

2) Sergio Perez – 240 points

3) Lewis Hamilton – 201 points

4) Fernando Alonso – 183 points

5) Carlos Sainz – 171 points

6) Lando Norris – 159 points

7) Charles Leclerc – 151 points

8) George Russell – 143 points

9) Oscar Piastri – 83 points

10) Pierre Gasly – 56 points

11) Lance Stroll – 53 points

12) Esteban Ocon – 44 points

13) Alex Albon – 25 points

14) Valtteri Bottas – 10 points

15) Nico Hulkenberg – 9 points

16) Yuki Tsunoda – 8 points

17) Zhou Guanyu – 6 points

18) Kevin Magnussen – 3 points

19) Liam Lawson – 2 points

20) Logan Sargeant – 1 point

21) Nyck de Vries – 0 points

22) Daniel Ricciardo – 0 points

Max Verstappen set the fastest time in practice for the Mexican Grand Prix as teenager Oliver Bearman made history by becoming the youngest British driver to take part in a Formula 1 weekend.

Verstappen denied Williams’ Alex Albon top spot by just 0.095 seconds at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City as home favourite Sergio Perez finished third, three tenths back.

Lando Norris was fourth for McLaren – half a second behind Verstappen – with Lewis Hamilton only 11th, one second off the pace in his Mercedes.

Exclusive interview by Kieran Jackson

As often was the case amid an American society embedded in racism in the 1980s, Muhammad Ali put it best. Advising black racing driver Willy T Ribbs, the people’s champion made his point in no uncertain terms: “There are Blacks in my sport. But there are no Blacks in your sport. They’re going to want to kill you.”

Yet for all the death threats, discrimination and abuse, Ribbs had long decided that the only option was to meet the uphill battle head-on. He made history in 1986 when he became the first Black driver to test an F1 car. Five years later, he was the first to race in the Indy 500, one of the world’s most famous events.

But on the course of that journey, Ribbs faced it all. Don’t let me tell you though; let the man himself.