Russell, Tsunoda quickest in Mexico practice as Red Bull, Ferrari have mixed fortunes

The first two practice sessions for this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix are done and dusted, with the attending crowd getting their money's worth as drivers took to the track.

It wasn't an easy weekend for everyone as drivers like Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Pietro Fittipaldi (Haas stand-in in First Practice), and Zhou Guanyu saw the end of their sessions early. Max Verstappen, too, had a few close calls in his Red Bull. The 2022 champion struggled with grip in the first session, but he stayed within touching distance of the fastest times in each session.

Red Bull's second driver, Sergio Perez, will be looking to make the most of his chances in Mexico. The local hero is a favourite around these parts (expectedly) and has the full support of his home crowd to spur him to victory.

The Mexican GP returned in 2015 and has been won by Red Bull on three occasions. Perez said he hopes he can give the team their fourth around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.

"Of course, I want to win this weekend - this is my target," the Mexican said.

"This is the target for everyone who is sitting here and coming to this weekend, also for Max. So we are all very competitive, and we all want to get the victory on Sunday, so we're going to give it all we possibly can to achieve that."

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Max has another moment in FP2 ??It's proving to be a tricky Friday so far for the Dutchman! #MexicoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/BYoLC5LXIX

Russell on top

The second practice session saw the regular frontrunners slip down the order as Mercedes-AMG's George Russell topped the times with a 1:19.970. It is only 0.8 seconds quicker than Carlos Sainz's (Ferrari) time in the morning