It was another Ferrari Friday, with Charles Leclerc setting the pace across the opening two practice sessions in Mexico, topping both FP1 and FP2.
While FP1 featured 10 rookies, the return of the regulars in the second practice session brought a clearer competitive picture, despite a red flag and a Virtual Safety Car interrupting proceedings.
What happened in FP1?
Leclerc led the way in a difficult opening session at the Mexico City Grand Prix, finishing ahead of Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and Frederik Vesti.
The Ferrari driver set the fastest time of 1:18.128, six tenths ahead of championship leader Antonelli. Lewis Hamilton was fourth, followed by Ayumu Iwasa, while home favourite Sergio Perez could only manage 17th.
The session had an unusual look, with 10 rookie drivers taking part. Vesti, who replaced Russell for the session, was the quickest of rookies in third. Ferrari were the only team not to have a rookie in their car.
Hamilton was the first out, with aerodynamic rakes attached to his Ferrari as he began on hard tyres. He switched to the softs with less than 20 minutes remaining but could not match the pace set by his teammate.
Jak Crawford's Aston Martin brought out the Virtual Safety Car after he stopped at Turn 1 with just under 15 minutes remaining.
Oliver Bearman also experienced smoke coming from his Haas while Freddie Slater's Audi had to make a stop back at the garage due to a cooling fan still attached to his car.
It was a relatively scrappy hour of Formula 1, with drivers getting accustomed to the dusty, low-grip circuit as several drivers locked up or went wide.
With different tyre compounds, fuel loads and running programmes, the session offered little to take forward for the rest of the weekend.
What happened in FP2?
Charles Leclerc continued Ferrari's strong start in Mexico, topping the timing sheets ahead of Lando Norris and George Russell.
The Ferrari driver set a fastest time of 1:17.827, just over a tenth ahead of Norris, as teams returned to the track with their regular drivers following the rookie appearances in the first session.
Antonelli was fourth while Max Verstappen, with damage to his car after an altercation with Liam Lawson, was fifth.
Pierre Gasly was the first driver out, while there were problems for both Haas drivers at the start as Esteban Ocon reported power steering issues and Oliver Bearman briefly stopped at Turn 3 due to a software issue.
Verstappen, who missed FP1 as Iwasa took his place, was quick out of the blocks, making up for lost time on the soft tyres.
The session was interrupted due to debris on the track, causing a red flag after Verstappen and Lawson made contact.
Verstappen went off track before rejoining and colliding with the Racing Bulls driver, which was the reason for the damage to his car.
Speaking to Sky Sports Craig Slater after the session, the Dutchman described it as "not very smart behaviour" from Lawson.
There was little to separate the hard and medium tyres during the opening 30 minutes, with drivers continuing to lock up and run wide at various moments.
Hamilton's Ferrari came to a halt, bringing out the VSC. The seven-time world champion was later escorted back to the garage on a scooter, drawing cheers from the Mexican crowd.
As the session drew to a close, drivers began improving their times, with Isack Hadjar, Arvid Lindblad, Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri completing the top 10. Piastri endured a difficult session, finishing a long way behind his teammate.
