Mexico Grand Prix FP1 results: Max Verstappen top of the pops

Meanwhile, teenager Oliver Bearman made history by becoming the youngest British driver to take part in a Formula One weekend.

Verstappen denied Williams' Albon top spot by just 0.095 seconds at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City as home favourite Sergio Perez finished third, three tenths back.

Lando Norris was fourth for McLaren – half a second behind Verstappen – with Lewis Hamilton only 11th, one second off the pace in his Mercedes.

Bearman, 18, competing for American outfit Haas, ended his F1 debut in 15th, only 1.6 sec slower than Verstappen and three tenths adrift of Nico Hulkenberg – a veteran of 200 grands prix – in the other car. Bearman also finished one place ahead of double world champion Fernando Alonso.

F1 teams must run a rookie driver at least twice during the season and Chelmsford-born Bearman was handed his chance to impress, breaking the British record previously held by Norris.

Norris was three months shy of his 19th birthday when he took part in practice for McLaren in Belgium in 2018 before he was promoted to a race seat the following season. Bearman turned 18 in May.

The teenager, a member of the Ferrari academy, has taken four victories in F1's feeder series Formula Two and is sixth in the standings ahead of next month's season finale in Abu Dhabi.

He is also expected to be given a second run for Haas at the Middle Eastern venue.

Hamilton was disqualified from last weekend's United States Grand Prix after running an illegal floor on his Mercedes.

Hamilton finished a close second to Verstappen to provide him with hope he could challenge the all-conquering Dutchman here.

But the seven-time world champion struggled for pace at the venue which sits 2,200 metres above sea level.

Hamilton's team-mate George Russell was forced to miss the first running with Danish junior driver Frederik Vesti taking over. He finished 19th.

In all, five young drivers were fielded in the running with Bearman the fastest.

Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc finished fifth, with Oscar Piastri sixth for McLaren. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, sidelined from Thursday's media sessions with a stomach bug, ended the running in seventh.

FP1 results:

1 Max Verstappen NED Oracle Red Bull Racing 1m19.718s
2 Alex Albon THA Williams Racing 1m19.813s
3 Sergio Perez MEX Oracle Bull Racing 1m20.015s
4 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m20.237s
5 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m20.297s
6 Oscar Piastri AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m20.463s
7 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari 1m20.479s
8 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Scuderia AlphaTauri 1m20.568s
9 Esteban Ocon FRA BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m20.677s
10 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 1m20.687s
11 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 1m20.724s
12 Nico Hulkenberg GER MoneyGram Haas F1 Team 1m20.968s
13 Zhou Guanyu CHN Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake 1m21.219s
14 Logan Sargeant USA Williams Racing 1m21.157s
15 Oliver Bearman GBR MoneyGram Haas F1 Team 1m21.313s
16 Fernando Alonso ESP Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 1m21.347s
17 Isack Hadjar FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri 1m21.941s
18 Jack Doohan AUS BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m21.2109s
19 Frederik Vesti DEN Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 1m22.937s
20 Theo Pourchaire FRA Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake No Time Set

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