Championship leader Oscar Piastri was only fourth fastest in first practice for the Mexican Grand Prix as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace.
Australian Piastri will be desperately keen for a strong weekend to boost his stuttering push for a maiden title.
He has seen his title lead slashed since victory in Zandvoort at the end of August, having been beaten by both Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in all of the four races since.
He now leads Norris by 14 points and Verstappen by 40 — having been 34 and 104 points clear of his rivals respectively after his Zandvoort win.
Piastri was separated from his title rivals in Austin last weekend by Ferrari duo Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in third and fourth and will be wary of their threat again this weekend.
Leclerc finished the session 0.107 seconds clear of Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri over four tenths off the pace and behind Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg.
The weekend’s opening running at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was largely unrepresentative, with Norris and Verstappen among nine drivers sitting out the session.
Norris handed his car over to Mexican Pato O’Ward, who was suffering with food poisoning before practice and sought medical attention after the session. Verstappen’s Red Bull was driven by 18-year-old British driver Arvid Lindblad.
Norris and Verstappen took the opportunity to watch from the pit wall.
Hamilton and George Russell were also watching on as teams fulfilled their obligation to allow rookie drivers to participate in practice sessions four times during the season.
Lindblad was the best of the rookie runners, finishing sixth fastest to boost his prospects of landing a seat in the Red Bull stable for next season.
