Charles Leclerc topped the opening practice session of the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix weekend with a 1m 18.128s, finishing 0.659s clear of championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Mercedes rookie Fred Vesti, standing in for George Russell, was third, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Ayumu Iwasa was fifth in Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, with Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, Oscar Piastri, Oliver Bearman and Arvid Lindblad completing the top ten.
Ten teams used the session for their mandatory rookie running. Vesti replaced Russell at Mercedes, Iwasa took Verstappen’s Red Bull and Leonardo Fornaroli drove Lando Norris’s McLaren. Nikola Tsolov stood in for Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls, Gabriele Mini for Franco Colapinto at Alpine and Ryo Hirakawa for Esteban Ocon at Haas. Freddie Slater took Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi, Luke Browning drove Alex Albon’s Williams, Jak Crawford replaced Lance Stroll at Aston Martin and Colton Herta stepped in for Valtteri Bottas at Cadillac.
Most teams were happy to use a set of hards for the initial set-up runs, with only Piastri and the two Racing Bulls starting on mediums. The track temperature was 41°C and the air 22°C, so tyre warm-up wasn’t a concern. At altitude, keeping the cars cool was the bigger problem.
The dusty, low-grip surface caught several drivers out. Antonelli ran wide early on after kicking up dust, and Sergio Pérez had a similar moment through the stadium section. Antonelli had set the early benchmark of 1m 20.155s, but with 40 minutes left he had a huge snap of oversteer and only just kept it out of the wall. Nico Hülkenberg locked up heavily, Piastri ran across the grass at Turn 1, and Hamilton slid out of shape through one of the faster corners and onto the kerbs.
Mexico City has rarely been Hamilton’s strongest circuit. He has two wins and one pole there, and his last victory came in 2019, partly because Red Bull have so often gone well at altitude whatever their form elsewhere.
Disrupted FP1 session for some at F1 Mexico City GP
Isack Hadjar’s session was disrupted early on. “Something’s wrong man. Like, is it engine braking? Are there holes in the engine? I have no power. What’s happening? Look I have no power,” he said on the radio. Red Bull brought him into the pits, saying it was a power unit issue under investigation. Engineers also looked at his steering wheel, after Hadjar had earlier complained it was leaning to the right. He still finished 11th.
Audi had a difficult hour. Slater was called into the pits after just six laps and told to switch off the engine, after having previously boxed for a cooling fan that had been left in the car and was blocking a sidepod. He returned late in the session. He then locked up heavily on a hot lap and ran off, but continued, finishing 21st.
With around 30 minutes to go, the soft tyres went on, with Lindblad, Leclerc and Antonelli among the first. Hamilton briefly went top on the hards before Leclerc moved to P1 with 25 minutes left and stayed there to the flag.
Fornaroli locked up and ran across the grass. “What happened there?” he asked on the radio, and his engineer put it down to the tyres possibly being cold. Norris may be wondering whether his floor took any damage. The rookie recovered to finish 17th.
A Virtual Safety Car was called with 12 minutes remaining after Crawford was told to stop his car, which he did in the run-off area. Aston Martin later said a suspected ERS issue ended his running, after his steering wheel display went blank.
The rookies put in some impressive performances. Vesti’s third place in Russell’s seat was the standout, and Iwasa’s fifth in Verstappen’s car wasn’t far behind.
Tsolov also made a strong case for himself. Racing Bulls have yet to confirm their 2027 line-up, with Lawson and Lindblad the incumbents, and Tsolov arrived in Mexico on the back of a strong F2 season. He improved on his second run on the softs to finish 12th, just 0.126s behind Lindblad.
“It’s been a textbook first session,” said team principal Alan Permane. “He’s kept it on the road. He’s given us good feedback and the pace is there, so we can’t ask for much more than that.”
Herta was slowest of all, 3.237s off Leclerc.
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