Lewis Hamilton quickest at FP1 in Mexico

Reigning Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton edged out the pair of Scuderia Ferrari in Friday's first practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Sebastian Vettel finished just behind, while teammate Nico Rosberg finished the session 0.759s adrift in seventh.

Hamilton's fastest lap came while on the medium compound midway through the session. Rosberg did the same. However, Mercedes gave the impression the team was not at all focused on quick lap times as both of their drivers racked up over 30 laps during the 90-minute session. The Silver Arrows hit the circuit early in the session wearing the soft compound, that was immediately followed by a series of mid-length runs on the mediums.

The Ferraris, both of whom finished second and third, set their times on the soft compound toward the end of the session and were split by a mere 0.079s. 

Hometown boy Sergio Perez set the fourth-fastest time in the session, he opted to run exclusively with super-soft tires on his Force India. Teammate Nico Hulkenberg ran a similar setup but finished behind his teammate.

Valtteri Bottas finished just 0.038s adrift of Hulkenberg in the session, this despite the fact his Williams was equipped with the slower soft compound tire. Force India and Williams head into Mexico still deadlocked in a heated battle for fourth place in the constructors' championship. Daniel Ricciardo navigated his Red Bull Racing machine to a finish of eighth, the highest placement for the team in the first session. Teammate Max Verstappen was limited to just 10 laps during the practice session because of a brake fire midway through — he'd finish outside the top 10.

Felipe Massa finished ninth, just ahead of Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat to round out the top 10.