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The first day of the 2023 F1 Mexican GP ended with more intriguing questions than answers as Max Verstappen topped the standings once again but things seem far more competitive at the front.
For starters, it was a bit of a surprise to see so many different teams with their fastest laps in the vicinity of each other.
We had Valtteri Bottas in the top five, which is a massive surprise but that's not all as we had the top 12 drivers separated by just six tenths of a second.
To add to this, the race pace was quite competitive for a lot of teams and left many salivating over the prospects of a competitive 2023 F1 Mexican GP.
So what have we learned after the first day of running? Let's take a look.
2023 F1 Mexican GP FP2: What did we learn?
#1 Max Verstappen faces a challenge from Lando Norris
There have been a few scenarios where Max Verstappen has faced challenges this season. There have been instances of what one would call a 'banana peel' moment where he could have slipped up.
As we can see this season, he hasn't slipped up. He's made sure that he raises his game and not make those mistakes.
At the 2023 F1 Mexican GP, he is potentially looking at a banana peel moment. One can't confidently claim that McLaren has the legs on Red Bull but in the hands of Lando Norris, it is very competitive.
Verstappen will have a challenge on his hands this weekend. It will be interesting to see how he tackles it.
#2 Mercedes should not be counted out
Lewis Hamilton seemed a bit disappointed with the form of his Mercedes after the first day. The performance was not what the team would have hoped and that seems evident in his reaction as well.
Having said that, in terms of lap time, Mercedes is not too far behind Red Bull.
It's a three-tenths of a second gap which shows inherent pace might be there. Mercedes tends to make improvements going from Friday to Saturday and we could see the same this time around as well.
#3 Ferrari is not too far off
Ferrari was one team that was expected to struggle this weekend with the high altitude playing a role. By the looks of it, that's not the case.
Charles Leclerc is not in a position to compete with Max Verstappen at the 2023 F1 Mexican GP but it's competitive enough to be in the top five as compared to what many pre-race expectations were.
Leclerc could be a contender for an outside chance at a podium this weekend which is way higher than the expectations everybody had from the team.
#4 Aston Martin is not having a clean weekend
Aston Martin would be begging for a clean session at the 2023 F1 Mexican GP after completely losing the way in FP2.
The car could be strong enough to still be the fifth fastest ahead of Alpine but the team needs to proper preparations that have just not happened for now.
#5 The one-lap pace is not indicative in FP2
There are many who were surprised looking at how close the top 12 were on the timesheets. Looking at Valtteri Bottas in an Alfa Romeo as a top five driver also seemed out of place. Well, the 2023 F1 Mexican GP one-lap pace is not going to be that close.
The track is long enough and the cars have still not converged enough to have these kinds of results. There was a bit of track evolution, engine modes as well, and fuel loads that played a role there.
