Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1044434
31 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 OCTOBER 2018 SPORTS FORMULA 1 RED Bull driver Max Verstappen completed a practice hat-trick for the Mexican Grand Prix after edg- ing out Lewis Hamilton and Sebas- tian Vettel. Under overcast skies, and on a drying circuit, Verstappen again held the advantage at the Auto- dromo Hermanos Rodriguez. But Verstappen, 21, finished just 0.254 seconds clear of Hamilton, with Mercedes having taken a step forward overnight. Vettel was 0.282 sec off the pace. Hamilton needs to finish only seventh to be sure of his fifth world championship, while Fer- rari's Vettel must win tomorrow to stand any chance of taking the title fight on to Brazil. Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, while Charles Leclerc, bound for Ferrari next season, finished an impres- sive sixth. Valtteri Bottas stopped on track with a hydraulics problem, and his Mercedes crew now face a race against time to get his car ready for qualifying. Following a wet start to the ses- sion, Hamilton completed just one lap, waving to the crowd, be- fore returning to his garage. The Briton then took a swipe at the sport's governing body - and Pirelli for not providing enough tyres for the slippery track. "I'm sorry to all the fans sitting out there as there's been no run- ning yet," he wrote on Instagram. "The FIA/Pirell won't give the teams an extra set of tyres to run in these conditions so we are forced to just sit tight and save the tyres we have in case rain comes in qualifying and the race." Later, and with the track suitable for dry tyres, Hamilton emerged in the final 10 minutes of the one- hour session to run Verstappen close at the top of the order. The Red Bull man, however, re- mains on course to become the sport's youngest ever pole sitter. Max Verstappen fastest in practice for Mexican Grand Prix Vettel favourite to win Ferrari were back on form in Texas last weekend, with both Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen qualifying within a tenth of pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton. Raikkonen took a rare and popular victory after benefiting from a strategic error from Mercedes, but Vettel would have walked the race had he been on the inside of the front row - where he qualified - rather than a penalised fifth. Rival Hamilton will wrap up the title with a solid points finish here so the Brit won't risk going wheel-to-wheel with Vettel as the German looks to restore some pride after an off-colour end to the season. Pierre Gasly expected to finish in the points The latest specification of Honda engine has already shown enough potential to fill Toro Rosso's parent team Red Bull with confidence about their future with the Japanese manufacturer. Gasly and team-mate Brendon Hartley took a grid hit in Austin in order to race in Mexico with a brand new unit and the pair should justify the optimism of the Italian squad. The middle-order in F1 is hugely competitive and the crucial tenth of a second Gasly has over Hartley might be enough to make his even- money price to finish in the points a value call. Track guide Venue: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Circuit length: 4.304km Laps: 71 Race distance: 305.354km 2017 winner: Max Verstappen 2017 pole position: Sebastian Vettel 2017 fastest lap: Sebastian Vettel