Leclerc leads opening Mexico City GP practice

Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of first practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

Leclerc built on the expectation that Ferrari’s power unit will do well in Mexico City’s high-altitude climes by setting the benchmark at 1m18.128s with three purple sectors. His time was 0.2s quicker than his session-topping FP1 time at this circuit last season – a rare year-on-year performance improvement after this year’s regulation changes.

Antonelli, though, was much further off the pace, lapping 0.659s off the pace. The Mercedes driver was slowest in the engine-dominated first sector and in the slow-speed corners of the final split.

Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti was an impressive third, standing in for George Russell. The 2023 F2 championship runner-up and Cadillac IMSA GTP driver was just 0.074s slower than Antonelli.

Lewis Hamilton was fourth in the second Ferrari, but his flying lap on softs was compromised by running wide at Turn 4 and then running deep into the stadium section.

Red Bull Racing reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa – second in Japan’s Super Formula standings this season – took Max Verstappen’s car to fifth, 0.985s off the pace.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was sixth, 1.082s adrift, 0.147s ahead of Fernando Alonso and 0.166s quicker than Oscar Piastri.

Oliver Bearman was ninth for Haas, 1.284s off the pace, but his session ended in a plume of smoke in pit lane due to an undisclosed technical problem. Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10 for Racing Bulls, 1.35s adrift of Leclerc.

Isack Hadjar suffered an early engine problem that forced him back to his garage almost immediately after joining the session. Red Bull Racing got him back out in time to complete 21 laps, roughly two-thirds of his planned mileage.

Red Bull-backed Nikola Tsolov, currently second in the Formula 2 championship, took Liam Lawson’s car to 12th, lapping only 0.126s slower than teammate Lindblad.

Nico Hulkenberg was 13th for Audi ahead of Gabriele Mini, the Alpine-backed F2 driver currently fourth in the championship, who piloted Franco Colapinto’s car for the session. Ryo Hirakawa, the World Endurance Championship points leader, took Esteban Ocon’s Haas to 15th ahead of Carlos Sainz.

McLaren reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli, the 2025 Formula 2 champion, was 17th ahead of Sergio Perez, whom Cadillac reported is ill today.

Aston Martin reserve Jak Crawford – the 2025 Formula 2 runner-up – was 19th after being told to stop Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin on track at the first chicane with a hybrid problem.

Luke Browning, the Williams reserve who is currently 13th in Japan’s Super Formula, substituted Alex Albon and completed the session 20th.

Freddie Slater, the F3 title runner-up and Audi reserve driver, got only 14 laps under his belt in his first F1 session after the team left a fan in his airbox early in the session. Though he was told his session was done after six laps, he was able to complete another eight tours late in the hour.

Cadillac reserve driver and nine-time IndyCar winner Colton Herta was 22nd, completing more than the 24 laps required to earn his 40th superlicense point, making him eligible to drive in Formula 1 next season.

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