'Positive start' for Verstappen with practice sweep in Mexico

High altitude and a little drizzle didn't seem to concern Max Verstappen on Friday, as he swept both practice sessions for this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

The Red Bull driver was fastest in FP1 with a time of 1:19.718s, and was quicker still in the second session when he set a time of 1:18.686s to keep him ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris.

That was despite spending some of the session on a set of test tyres for Pirelli, and the arrival of some light rain and drizzle at two points in FP2.

While there were some minor incidents for many drivers including Fernando Alonso, and a number of reliability issues potentially triggered by the high altitude of the venue, Verstappen's time on track was untroubled.

"Overall I think it is a positive start to the weekend, probably better than I had expected, so that’s always good.." he remarked to the media in the paddock after the end of Friday's track activity.

• Read also: Verstappen tops second practice in Mexico ahead of Norris

“There are always a few things to improve,” he acknowledged. “The track is very slippery, like always here. In the long runs the tyres are very difficult to manage as well, so there are still a few things that we can work on.

“Tomorrow it’s going to be incredibly competitive over one lap, but the race pace is a different story," he added.

It was also a solid start to the weekend for his team mate Sergio Perez at his home race, where his every appearance on track was greeted by huge cheers from local fans in the grandstands.

Perez was third quickest in FP1 and less than two tenths off Verstappen's pace. Although he dropped to P5 in the second session, the gap between himself and his team mate remained consistent.

"We didn’t have a straightforward day, we didn’t get a good read on the soft over a single lap," he said. "I had a yellow flag, so I ended up doing it on my second timed lap.

"My lap wasn’t tidy and I nearly ended up going off in the final corner," he admitted. "So there are still plenty of things to understand, especially the different compounds, to get a good read for Sunday.

"I think overall we are looking in a good position and I think we have a good direction to take. Things are looking good but as we know, qualifying is going to be tight."

As for the experience of racing in front of his enthusiastic fans, Perez said: "It's so nice to have a lot of support from the fans.

"It's funny - when you are in the car you are so focused you can forget where you are. And then as soon as you are out, it’s like: 'Wow!' It’s a lot of attention."

Perez will doubtless remain in the spotlight through tomorrow's final practice and into qualifying which will set the starting grid for Sunday's Grand Prix.

Perez is battling with Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton over who will take second place in the drivers championship, with Perez 39 points ahead with four races still to do this season.

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