Charles Leclerc fastest in Mexico GP FP1 dominated by 10 F1 rookies
Charles Leclerc set the pace for Ferrari as rookies impressed in FP1 in Mexico City.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led Mercedes’ soon-to-be Formula 1 world champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli in opening practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix featuring 10 rookie drivers.
Leclerc was 0.659 seconds faster than Antonelli, who can clinch his first F1 world title with a top-nine finish in Sunday’s race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, on soft tyres.
Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti was third-fastest, seven tenths off the pace, as he stood in for George Russell in the opening hour of running.
Lewis Hamilton failed to set a representative soft tyre effort after a mistake in the iconic Stadium section left the seven-time world champion well down on his team-mate.
F1 Mexico Grand Prix: Friday practice results
Ferrari was the only team not fielding a rookie in first practice, which enabled Hamilton to conduct some experiments on his SF-26.
The inclusion of so many rookies, combined with low grip conditions on a ‘green’ track, led to a very mixed up FP1 order with little that can be gleaned from the early running.
Ayumu Iwasa was a strong fifth for Red Bull, ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri in the McLaren.
The top-10 was completed by Ollie Bearman and Arvid Lindblad for Haas and Racing Bulls respectively.
Bearman’s Haas was seen smoking as it was wheeled back into the garage at the end of the session, having reported something was “broken” on his car.
Isack Hadjar was only 11th after suffering power unit issues in his Red Bull.
Nikola Tsolov ended up 12th-fastest on his F1 practice debut with Racing Bulls, despite the Formula 2 championship hopeful appearing to struggle with a dead leg in the closing stages of practice.
The Red Bull junior is hoping to become the first full-time F1 driver from Bulgaria as he eyes one of the team’s seats for 2027.
It was a difficult practice debut for British teenager Freddie Slater, who encountered problems on his Audi that restricted him to just 14 laps.
Slater did at least get a lap time on the board at the end of FP1 as he took 21st, ahead of Colton Herta who was slowest of all for Cadillac in 22nd.
Herta’s fifth FP1 outing of the season means he has now reached the 40-point threshold required to gain a superlicence, which opens the door for the American to make his F1 debut next year.
Cadillac is weighing up whether to replace Valtteri Bottas with Herta in 2027.
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