2026 Mexico City GP FP1: Leclerc sets the pace ahead of Antonelli

Charles Leclerc delivered an impressive start to the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, topping the opening practice session as a host of young drivers got their chance to shine.

Charles Leclerc laid down an early marker at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, putting Ferrari at the top of the timesheets in Free Practice 1 ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti.

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The Monegasque produced a benchmark lap of 1m 18.128s around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, finishing 0.659s clear of Antonelli, who could secure his maiden title in the 2026 F1 World Championship this weekend. Vesti, standing in for George Russell, impressed in third, just 0.074s behind Antonelli, while Lewis Hamilton completed a strong opening session for Ferrari in fourth.

2026 Mexico City Grand Prix FP1 Results

2026 Mexico City Grand Prix FP1, 30 October 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:18.128	29
2	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.659s	30
3	72	Frederik Vesti	Mercedes	+0.733s	24
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.738s	25
5	36	Ayumu Iwasa	Red Bull Racing	+0.985s	23
6	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1.082s	33
7	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+1.229s	29
8	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.248s	30
9	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+1.284s	28
10	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+1.350s	30
11	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	+1.417s	21
12	91	Nikola Tsolov	Racing Bulls	+1.476s	29
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.480s	27
14	62	Gabriele Mini	Alpine	+1.818s	22
15	50	Ryo Hirakawa	Haas F1 Team	+1.854s	30
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+1.878s	31
17	67	Leonardo Fornaroli	McLaren	+2.107s	25
18	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+2.267s	31
19	34	Jak Crawford	Aston Martin	+2.675s	15
20	46	Luke Browning	Williams	+2.741s	33
21	98	Freddie Slater	Audi	+2.817s	14
22	25	Colton Herta	Cadillac	+3.237s	30

Friday’s 60-minute session began at 12:30 local time and featured an unusually large number of unfamiliar names, with 10 of the 11 teams handing at least one car to a young or reserve driver. Ferrari were the only outfit to retain their full-time pairing, giving Leclerc and Hamilton valuable additional running ahead of a potentially decisive championship weekend.

Among the newcomers were Red Bull junior and Formula 2 frontrunner Nikola Tsolov, who made his F1 weekend debut in Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls, and Audi development driver Freddie Slater. The Formula 3 runner-up took over Gabriel Bortoleto’s car for his first official grand prix practice appearance.

Track conditions proved difficult from the outset, with the dusty surface offering little grip as drivers began their programmes. Antonelli was among those struggling for traction through the stadium section, while home favourite Sergio Perez also experienced some slippery moments around the high-altitude circuit.

Isack Hadjar encountered the first notable mechanical setback of the weekend, nursing his Red Bull back to the pits with a power unit issue shortly before the 10-minute mark. Meanwhile, Leclerc quickly established Ferrari as the early benchmark, becoming the first driver to break the 1m 20s barrier with a 1m 19.197s lap on Pirelli’s Hard compound.

The challenging conditions continued to catch drivers out. Nico Hulkenberg locked up heavily and escaped down the Turn 1 run-off, while Arvid Lindblad ran wide at Turn 12 on the approach to the stadium. Reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli, deputising for Lando Norris at McLaren, also had to gather up a sizeable slide on the exit of Turn 11.

Oscar Piastri was another to test the limits, running deep into Turn 1 and cutting across the grass. Such moments highlighted the unusual demands of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, situated more than 2,200 metres above sea level, where thinner air reduces aerodynamic downforce and makes finding grip particularly challenging.

There was also trouble for Slater midway through his maiden session. Audi mistakenly released the British youngster with a sidepod cooling fan still attached to his car, an incident that appeared to damage the power unit and left him confined to the garage for an extended period. The stewards were due to investigate the unsafe release after the session.

As the field switched towards qualifying-style runs on the Soft tyres, Leclerc immediately raised the pace with his decisive 1m 18.128s effort. Antonelli was unable to get within six tenths of the Ferrari, while Vesti underlined Mercedes’ competitiveness by finishing only 0.074s behind his team-mate.

The closing stages were briefly interrupted by a Virtual Safety Car with fewer than 10 minutes remaining after Aston Martin reserve Jak Crawford, replacing Lance Stroll, stopped his car at Turn 1 with a technical problem.

Leclerc’s benchmark remained unbeaten through to the chequered flag, leaving Antonelli second and Vesti third, with Hamilton just 0.005s behind the Danish Mercedes driver in fourth. Ayumu Iwasa, driving Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, completed the top five, 0.985s away from the leading Ferrari.

Pierre Gasly placed sixth for Alpine, ahead of Fernando Alonso in the other Aston Martin, Piastri’s McLaren, Oliver Bearman’s Haas and Lindblad, who rounded out the top 10 for Racing Bulls.

Hadjar recovered from his early power unit scare to take 11th, followed by Tsolov, Hulkenberg and another F1 newcomer, Gabriele Mini, who stepped into Franco Colapinto’s Alpine after previously winning races in Formula 2.

Ryo Hirakawa, replacing Esteban Ocon at Haas, finished 15th, followed by Carlos Sainz in the Williams, Fornaroli, Perez and Crawford. Luke Browning, deputising for Alex Albon at Williams, ended the session 20th, with Slater 21st after his interrupted running and Colton Herta, driving Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac, completing the 22-car classification.

While Ferrari emerged with the early advantage, Mercedes remained firmly in contention despite running Vesti in one of their cars. With Antonelli facing his first opportunity to wrap up the drivers’ championship, the opening session offered an intriguing glimpse of the competitive order ahead of second practice in Mexico City.