Lando Norris
Lando Norris

F1 Mexico Grand Prix LIVE: Friday practice as it happened

Follow all the action from Friday at the 2026 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix.

KEY MOMENTS 

  • Charles Leclerc topped FP1 & FP2
  • Kimi Antonelli on brink of F1 title this weekend 
  • FP2 takes place at 10pm GMT

The 2026 Formula 1 season continues this weekend with the Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. 

Mexico City hosts the 19th round of this season's F1 world championship, which marks the second opportunity for Andrea Kimi Antonelli to clinch this year's title. 

Antonelli leads the standings by an almost unbeatable 123 points over Mercedes team-mate George Russell and will be crowned champion in Sunday's race with a ninth-place finish, regardless of where Russell finishes. 

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton is the only other driver in mathematical contention, but the seven-time world champion must win and hope Antonelli scores no points to keep the title fight rolling on to Brazil next weekend. 

In reality, 20-year-old Antonelli, who has won nine grands prix this season, looks set to secure his first F1 world title in Mexico. In doing so, the Italian will break Sebastian Vettel's 16-year record for being the youngest-ever world champion. 

Mercedes is unlikely to have things all its own way, however, with Mexico's high altitude likely to affect the competitive order. The likes of Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren are all snapping at the Silver Arrows' heels and waiting for any opportunity to snatch a win. 

30 Oct 2026
19:18
VSC Ended

The VSC period has ended, and the green flags are back out

19:17
VSC Deployed

The VSC has been deployed after Jak Crawford pulled over in the Aston Martin

19:16
15 Minutes Remaining

There are 15 minutes left of FP1, and here is how the top 10 currently look:

  1. Charles Leclerc
  2. Kimi Antonelli
  3. Frederik Vesti
  4. Lewis Hamilton
  5. Ayumu Iwasa
  6. Pierre Gasly
  7. Fernando Alonso
  8. Oscar Piastri
  9. Ollie Bearman

  10. Arvid Lindblad

     

     

     

19:12

Arvid Lindblad has moved into seventh place, and his Racing Bulls teammate for FP1, Nikola Tsolov, has moved into tenth place

19:10

Frederik Vesti has now knocked Hirakawa out of the top ten after he went ninth for Mercedes

19:09

Ryo Hirakawa has entered the top ten as he has gone tenth for Haas

19:04

Kimi Antonelli is back in second place after using soft tyres, but is 0.659 seconds behind Charles Leclerc

19:03

Charles Leclerc has put on the soft tyres and has gone back to the top of the timesheets with a 1m18.128

19:02
Freddie Slater is out of FP1

Freddie Slater will not continue in Free Practice 1, as his team has told him to turn the engine off...

19:01
Top 10 halfway through FP1

Here is the top ten halfway through the session:

  1. Lewis Hamilton
  2. Charles Leclerc
  3. Kimi Antonelli
  4. Arvid Lindblad
  5. Ayumu Iwasa
  6. Nico Hulkenberg
  7. Fernando Alonso
  8. Nikola Tsolov
  9. Pierre Gasly
  10. Ollie Bearman
18:59

Lewis Hamilton has now jumped to the top of the timesheets, as he moved 0.060 seconds ahead of his teammate

18:59

Freddie Slater will be investigated after the session due to an unsafe release

18:58

After previously not setting a lap time, Jak Crawford has moved up to 17th on the timesheets, but Freddie Slater has not yet set a competitive lap time...

18:56

Lewis Hamilton has jumped into third place on the timesheets, with Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli ahead of him in first and second

18:54

Ayumu Iwasa has moved into third place for Red Bull and is 0.492 seconds slower than Charles Leclerc 

18:50

Jak Crawford and Freddie Slater have been in the pits for a long time after completing 2 and 3 laps in the early stages of the session...

18:47
Lewis Hamilton's Mexico GP FP1 Experiment

Lewis Hamilton's experiment for Free Practice 1 has been revealed:

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari experiments for Mexico GP FP1 revealed after ‘test races’ remark

Lewis Hamilton is using FP1 in Mexico to carry out tests
Lewis Hamilton is using FP1 in Mexico to carry out tests
18:45
Top 10 as it stands

After 15 minutes, here is how the top 10 look:

  1. Charles Leclerc
  2. Kimi Antonelli
  3. Fernando Alonso
  4. Nico Hulkenberg
  5. Oliver Bearman
  6. Nikola Tsolov
  7. Arvid Lindblad
  8. Pierre Gasly
  9. Ayumu Iwasa
  10. Sergio Perez
18:39

Arvid Lindblad has slotted into second place, with Nico Hulkenberg in third place

18:36

Kimi Antonelli has taken over at the top of the timesheets with a 1m 21.656

18:35

Charles Leclerc has topped the timesheets in the early stages of Free Practice 1, with Sergio Perez behind him in second place

18:34
10 drivers replaced for FP1

As a reminder, there are ten different drivers participating in Free Practice 1...

Who’s replacing Max Verstappen, George Russell and Lando Norris in F1 Mexico GP practice?

Verstappen and Norris will sit out first practice in Mexico
Verstappen and Norris will sit out first practice in Mexico
18:30
Free Practice 1 is underway

The first session of the weekend is underway, and the first driver on track is Lewis Hamilton

18:25
Five minute countdown

There are five minutes until Free Practice 1 begins at the Mexico GP...

18:15

The first Practice session from the Mexico GP will begin in 15 minutes...