Leclerc tops Mexico City FP1 as F1 rookies get their chance to shine

Charles Leclerc topped first practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix, setting a 1:18.128 on soft tyres to finish 0.659s clear of championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Mercedes reserve Frederik Vesti was third, with Lewis Hamilton fourth.

Why it matters:

F1’s young-driver mandate reshaped the session, with teams required to give two FP1 runs per car to drivers with no more than two grand prix starts. Several used Mexico to fulfil that obligation, making the order less representative but giving rookies a valuable benchmark at the high-altitude Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

The details:

• Antonelli was next on 1:18.787, with Vesti 0.074s further back.
• Ayumu Iwasa, replacing Max Verstappen at Red Bull, was fifth. Gasly, Alonso, Piastri, Bearman and Lindblad completed the top ten.
• Rookies included Minì, Tsolov, Fornaroli, Hirakawa, Slater, Browning, Crawford and Herta.
• Sergio Pérez marked his 300th grand prix weekend at home. Isack Hadjar reported power and engine-braking problems, then steering trouble.
• Crawford’s suspected ERS failure triggered a VSC. Audi faced an unsafe-release investigation over a cooling component left in Slater’s sidepod; Bearman returned with smoke from overheating brakes.

What’s next:

With full line-ups absent and evaluation runs dominating, FP1 offered only a first read on form. Ferrari look strong, but Mercedes’ pace through Antonelli and Vesti suggests the fight at the front could tighten in FP2.