WHAT WE LEARNED FROM FP1 AND FP2
* Although conditions were cool and slippery all day following some overnight rain (with track temperatures never exceeding 39 degrees centigrade) Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel’s fastest FP2 lap on the soft C4 compound was slightly quicker than last year’s equivalent. This was despite a tyre selection that was harder than last year (when hypersoft was the softest nominated tyre).
* The overnight rain meant that many drivers started FP1 on the intermediate tyre, in even cooler conditions. This was also to take advantage of the regulations, which allow an extra set of tyres if Friday practice is declared wet and a set of intermediates is used. The cold and slippery track meant that there was a bit of graining in the morning, which was reduced during the afternoon with more rubber on the track.
* Both sessions were interrupted by quite lengthy red flag periods, which meant that teams couldn’t quite get the full three hours of free practice allocated for Friday.
* Similar weather conditions are expected tomorrow, with some possible overnight rain in store, which could wash away the rubber laid down today.
* As expected, the high altitude in Mexico affected grip as well, as in the thin air the cars generate less downforce.
* Up to now, the performance difference between the medium and the soft is around 0.9 seconds, with 0.6 seconds between medium and hard (but the data for the medium-hard comparison is less representative).

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING
“The gaps seem to be reasonably close between the top cars on the same tyre, accentuated by the relatively short lap length and the fact that the running has been interrupted today. This meant that nobody really had the chance to find any particular advantage. With more rain possibly expected tonight, the grip might not significantly improve tomorrow. The graining we saw this morning was no real surprise given the cool and damp conditions combined with the lack of aerodynamic grip, which meant that the cars were sliding more than usual. Despite this, the actual lap times were comparable to last year – and with a harder tyre selection. There’s clearly some degradation on the soft at the moment in particular, but a lot will depend on the eventual weather conditions for race day. Plenty for the teams and drivers to think about overnight, as starting the race on the medium tyre could be a valid strategy this weekend.”

FREE PRACTICE 1 – TOP 3 TIMES
DRIVER		TIME	C	OMPOUND
Hamilton	1m17.327s	SOFT C4 USED
Leclerc		1m17.446s	MEDIUM C3 USED
Verstappen	1m17.461s	SOFT C4 USED

FREE PRACTICE 2 – TOP 3 TIMES
DRIVER		TIME		COMPOUND
Vettel		1m16.607s	SOFT C4 NEW
Verstappen	1m16.722s	SOFT C4 NEW
Leclerc		1m17.072s	SOFT C4 NEW

FP1 - BEST TIME BY COMPOUND
COMPOUND	DRIVER		TIME
HARD C2		Sainz		1m20.569s
MEDIUM C3	Leclerc		1m17.446s
SOFT C4		Hamilton	1m17.327s

FP2 - BEST TIME BY COMPOUND
COMPOUND	DRIVER			TIME
HARD C2		Bottas			1m18.667s
MEDIUM C3	Verstappen, Vettel	1m17.960s
SOFT C4		Vettel			1m16.607s

MOST LAPS BY COMPOUND SO FAR
COMPOUND	DRIVER		LAPS
HARD C2		Kvyat		25
MEDIUM C3	Vettel		25
SOFT C4		Giovinazzi	22
INTERMEDIATE	Leclerc		3

TYRE STATISTICS OF THE DAY
 			HARD	MEDIUM	SOFT	INTERMEDIATE
Kms driven*		710	1876	2324	98
Sets used overall**	9	32	41	17

The above number gives the total amount of kilometres
driven in FP1 and FP2 today, all drivers combined.
** Per compound, all drivers combined.