Valtteri Bottas led Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes one-two ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in first practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Dutchman leads Hamilton by 12 points in the title race, with five grands prix remaining. Verstappen is a strong favourite for victory on a track on which Red Bull have tended to excel in recent years. There was no race in Mexico last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and it is only the second long-haul race to be staged since the start of Covid, after the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, two weeks ago.

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