Verstappen had a great start to the weekend by winning both FP1 and FP2 in his RB19. Should he record his 16th victory of 2023 in Mexico, he might break his own record for the most wins in a season.
Before it started to rain in the second practise session, the three-time Mexico Grand Prix winner led Alex Albon’s Williams by 0.095 seconds in the first session. He then lowered his benchmark time of 1m19.718s to 1m18.686s, which was faster than Lando Norris by 0.119s.
When Verstappen tried to pass a fierce Valtteri Bottas into Turn 1, he found a tear-off stuck in his rear suspension and met strong resistance. Those were the only moments of anxiety for Verstappen.
One week after being disqualified in Austin, Norris had set the fourth quickest time in Formula One behind Verstappen, Albon, and Sergio Perez’s second Red Bull. Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari was next in line.
Fernando Alonso’s workout was less straightforward as he spun through three circles to get his soft tyres to root.
Ahead of Perez, Bottas finished a strong fourth for Alfa Romeo; this achievement was made the more remarkable by the fact that, as part of Formula 1’s mandated rookie running, he had to give up the Ferrari-powered Alfa in FP1 for Formula 2 points leader Theo Pourchaire.
Isack Hadjar (AlphaTauri), Fredrik Vesti (Mercedes), and fellow F2 driver Ollie Bearman (Haas) all experienced their first official F1 weekend, while Hadjar had never seen F1 machinery before.
For the first time since Abu Dhabi 2022, Jack Doohan was back in the Alpine cockpit in the meanwhile.
What time does the Formula One Mexican Grand Prix qualifying session begin?
Beginning at 3 p.m. local time (10 p.m. BST), qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix will follow the standard Q1, Q2, and Q3 elimination session format.
- Date: October 28, 2023, Saturday
- Time of start: 3 p.m. local time – 10 p.m. BST
How to watch Formula 1?
Except for the British Grand Prix, which airs live on both Sky Sports and Channel 4, Formula 1 is televised live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports. Highlights of the event are aired on Channel 4 a few hours after it finishes. The UK can also access live streaming via NOW.
For £24 per month, new subscribers can add Sky Sports F1, which telecasts Formula One events, to their list of Sky Sports channels. NOW users can also get Sky Sports for a one-time fee of £11.98p or a monthly membership fee of £34.99p.
How can you watch qualifying for the Formula One Mexican Grand Prix?
Every F1 practise, qualifying session and race are televised live in the UK on Sky Sports F1. The Mexican GP qualifying coverage on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event begins at 8:30 p.m. British Summer Time.
Channel: Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event
Start time: 8:30pm BST 28 October 2023
When will the F1 Mexican GP qualifying highlights be available to watch?
Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. BST, Channel 4 in the United Kingdom will air a recap of the Mexican Grand Prix qualifying. The entire 60-minute show will cover qualifying as well as summarise the main talking points from the first part of the race weekend.
Channel 4 will air highlights of every qualifying session and race of the 2023 Formula One season. The highlights will also be available through Channel 4’s catch-up on demand programmes.
- Channel: Channel 4
- Start time: September 29, 2023, 8:30 a.m. BST
Will there be broadcasting of the F1 Mexican GP qualifying?
Every practise, qualifying session and race of the 2023 Formula One season will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 5 Live Sports Extra or the BBC Sport website.
Mexican Grand Prix qualification will be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sounds app beginning at 10:00 p.m. BST.
What is the Mexico City qualifying weather forecast?
At the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Saturday is expected to be a hot and bright day for qualifying. At the beginning of qualifying, the weather is expected to be 24 degrees Celsius with a small chance of rain.