In the first practice session for the Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc showcased his speed, finishing with the fastest time ahead of Kimi Antonelli, as 10 rookies participated in the session.
The Ferrari racer clocked in at 1m18.128s, which was six tenths of a second quicker than the championship-bound driver in the Mercedes team, with Frederik Vesti rounding out the top three with a time of 1m18.861s.
Vesti, substituting for George Russell, was among the ten newcomers taking part in FP1, as all teams except Ferrari fielded a junior driver, opting for Mexico due to the atypical conditions of the session.
This session commenced a minimum of 90 minutes before the qualifying and race scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and the track experiences significant evolution over the weekend since it is seldom utilized throughout the year.
The evolution was apparent early on, as Leclerc began with a time of 1m21.965s, followed by a swift reduction in lap times when Antonelli improved by 1.151s shortly after.
The 20-year-old then improved his time by another seven tenths on his next attempt, posting a 1m20.155s, but Leclerc responded by setting a new benchmark of 1m19.197s, which was 0.303s quicker than Antonelli’s subsequent lap.
Both drivers had a commanding presence during the initial runs while Isack Hadjar experienced power-unit issues with his Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton soon joined the top contenders, clocking in at 1m19.869s to occupy third position after 25 minutes.
Leclerc then eclipsed his previous best by 0.060s, recording a time of 1m19.137s, just before the soft tire runs began in the latter half of the hour-long session.
He first went 1.009s faster than his teammate’s hard-tyre record with a lap of 1m18.128s, apace with Antonelli’s slower time of 1m18.787s.
Other drivers outside the top three faced difficulties with the low-grip track: technical issues hindered Audi’s substitute Freddie Slater, and McLaren’s duo Leonardo Fornaroli and Oscar Piastri encountered challenges in sector one.
Leonardo Fornaroli, McLaren
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
Piastri – at the site where he lost the title lead last season – struggled to find pace with his MCL40, lagging 1.248s behind on his soft-tyre lap with 15 minutes left.
It was Vesti who capitalized on the situation, moving into third place with a time of 1m18.861s, just 0.080s away from Antonelli.
During that period, Jak Crawford created a brief virtual safety car by stopping at Turn 1 in Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, prompting drivers to revert to harder compounds for the final ten minutes.
With Leclerc’s 1m18.128s remaining unbeaten, he finished ahead of Antonelli and Vesti by margins of 0.659s and 0.733s respectively, while Hamilton secured fourth position with a time that fell 0.738s short of the pace.
Ayumu Iwasa, substituting for Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, finished fifth with a 1m19.113s on medium tires, followed by sixth-placed Pierre Gasly who managed a 1m19.210s using soft tires.
Fernando Alonso was next (+1.229s), followed by Piastri (+1.248s), Oliver Bearman (+1.284s), and Arvid Lindblad (+1.350s) completing the top ten.
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– The Autosport.com Team
