Carlos Sainz sets the pace as F1 returns for another salsa in Mexico City

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari posted the quickest time in the opening practice session for this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix.

The Spanish driver posted a 1:20.707 on the Hard tyre, putting him 0.046 seconds clear of teammate Charles Leclerc.

Sainz's time came on the (slower) Hard tyre, while Leclerc posted his time on the Softs. None of the 20 drivers ventured onto the track with the yellow-walled Medium tyre, instead opting to gauge tyre performance in long (Hard) and short (Soft) runs.

WRAP | 2022 Mexican Grand Prix - Ferrari duo quickest in opening practice

Expect the Mediums to come into play during the second practice session when teams perform long-run simulations.

The session also saw five rookie drivers take to the track. Pietro Fittipaldi, Nyck de Vries, Jack Doohan, Liam Lawson and Logan Sargeant all got some running in, but a red flag brought about by Fittipaldi saw the session end with minutes remaining. His Haas suffered technical problems.

Everyone watch out, Nyck Debris is on the track ??#MexicoGP #F1 @nyckdevries pic.twitter.com/aPCXYZZKnP

The Red Bulls

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen set identical times in the session. Both posted a 1:20.827 - 0.120sec off Sainz's pace - and completed the same number of laps (20). Having wrapped up both F1 championships in 2022, Red Bull will now compete in the remaining three races to rewrite history.

If Verstappen wins on Sunday, he will surpass Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel to become the sole record holder of 14 wins in a single F1 season. Of course, Perez would not deny his teammate the honour, but he would want to give his home crowd something to cheer about.

Ahead of the racing weekend, Perez said: "Of course, I want to win this weekend – this is my target. This is the