Leclerc tops opening practice in Mexico as rookie Vesti claims surprise third
The first session of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend featured 10 rookie drivers filling in meet the mandatory Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) rookie practice requirements. Every team except Ferrari ran a substitute driver for FP1, and as a result, Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of the session.
Lewis Hamilton was first in the lengthy pit lane queue, eager to get out on track to gain as much data as possible. His SF-26 featured a big aero-rake at the front of the car, following problems with understeer in Austin last weekend. Hamilton first set lap time was 1:34:642, which was 12 seconds off the lap time that his teammate, Leclerc, made shortly after.
Antonelli, despite suffering from illness this week and missing yesterday's media duties, was ruled fit to take part in today's practice session. He had set the fastest time from Leclerc, but his lap got deleted due to track limits, following some problems with braking on the low grip track. This weekend, the 20-year-old could win the 2026 World Drivers' Championship if he secures a top nine finish at Sunday's Grand Prix.
Isack Hadjar seemingly had a technical issue with his car, as he reported that something was wrong over the radio. He slowed down and managed to get the car into the pits safely, with it later being confirmed it was a power unit issue.
Antonelli then went on to set the fastest time of the pack on his following timed lap, with a time of 1:20:941. Behind him was Arvid Lindblad, who set a flying lap time of 1:21:082. Lindblad has had an excellent debut season this year, and is in the running for a contract extension for 2027.
Nikola Tsolov also took part in the session, filling in for Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson. The Formula 2 driver has been rumoured for a seat at RB next year, but it is unclear who he will replace at the team should he be the successful choice. By the 20 minute mark, Tsolov led the rookies, sitting sixth on the timesheets.
Leclerc regained his spot at the top, outpacing Antonelli by 0.303 seconds. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso went third fastest, only 0.941 seconds off Leclerc's benchmark. The Spaniard has had a rocky season at Aston Martin, with the AMR26 struggling under the new regulations. However, he looked to be on pace in this session, with Jak Crawford filling in for Lance Stroll in the team's other car.
Ayumu Iwasa, taking Max Verstappen's place in FP1, eventually took Tsolov's lead of the rookies, going third fastest of the pack and outpacing Alonso. However, Hamilton managed to get himself up the board ahead of the rookie.
Freddie Slater made his F1 weekend debut in FP1, with the 18-year old from Stratford-upon-Avon driving Gabriel Bortoleto's Audi in this session. Slater did not have a timed lap for the first half the session, and after finally getting onto the track for his out lap, he had to immediately pit due to the team leaving a cooling fan on the Audi.
Following the removal of the fan from the side of Slater's car, he managed to get back out to attempt a timed lap, but was called into the pits before setting a time due to an issue with the car and told to turn the engine off.
Lindblad went fourth fastest as the only driver on soft tyres. Leclerc then came out of the pits, also on softs, and set strong pace with a time of 1:18:128, faster than his teammate by over a second.
Leonardo Fornaroli seemed to be struggling in Lando Norris' McLaren, locking up on his first attempt at a push lap. He did manage to get a time in after this first aborted lap, but is three seconds off pace of the Ferrari.
Sergio Pérez moved up to 11th on the timesheets after struggling for the first part of the practice session. The Mexican driver is getting geared up for his 300th Grand Prix start this weekend in front of his home crowd
Frederik Vesti moved up to third in George Russell's Mercedes, setting his best time of the session yet. Meanwhile at Turn 3, Crawford had an unfortunate end to his FP1 run, with the Aston Martin suffering an issue.
Slater managed to get back out onto the track with the issue at Audi seemingly being resolved. The teenager managed to set his first timed lap, albeit over four seconds off pace.
Tsolov was seen back in the RB garage struggling to get out of the car after complaining of losing feeling in his right leg. The Bulgarian managed to shake some feeling back into it and get some more track time around Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
The completion the first practice session of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend saw Leclerc finish at the top of the timesheets with a lap time of 1:18:128. This follows Ferrari topping every practice session last weekend in Austin. However, the question of whether they can convert the pace from practice and take victory on Sunday still remains.
Leclerc was followed by Antonelli, who is in the running to become the youngest F1 World Champion in history this weekend. He was joined in the top three by Vesti in the the other Mercedes, an impressive outing for the rookie driver.
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