F1 Mexico GP: Charles Leclerc quickest in FP1 as Arvid Lindblad leads rookie crop

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc went fastest in opening practice for the Mexico Grand Prix, as nine rookies got valuable Formula 1 track time, including an eye-catching outing for Arvid Lindblad at Red Bull.

In a session that was sat out by the likes title contenders Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, as well as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, due to teams seeking to fulfil sporting regulations regarding young drivers, Leclerc outpaced his rivals with a 1m18.380s marker.

The track was in its familiar dusty state with poor grip during the opening session at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and most cars spent the initial 25 minutes getting to grips with the track on hard rubber, with Antonelli then fastest of these in 1m20.035s. Just a handful of drivers already used mediums then, among whom Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar was fastest in 1m20.005s.

Lap times unsurprisingly got significantly faster as most runners bolted soft tyres on, while remaining more than two seconds slower than last year's pole position by Carlos Sainz, then at Ferrari, a 1m15.946s.

Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli eventually took second place in 1m18.487s, with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg making up the top three, nearly four tenths down on the leader.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri was fourth-fastest as Gabriel Bortoleto made it two Saubers in the top five; the Swiss team was the only one that previously fulfilled its rookie requirements for the 2025 season.

Arvid Lindblad, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

Verstappen's Red Bull stand-in and a likely Racing Bulls F1 2026 graduate, Lindblad was by far the quickest rookie in 1m18.997s, a lap time he set quite late in the session.

All other debutants propped up the timesheet, but it is worth noting that Ayumu Iwasa (Racing Bulls), Luke Browning (Williams) and Jak Crawford (Aston Martin) never used soft tyres – neither did Hadjar and Alex Albon – while Ferrari's Le Mans 24 Hours winner Antonio Fuoco did not seem to seek performance.

Everyone stayed clear of the walls throughout the session, though Franco Colapinto, Hadjar and Piastri did harmlessly end up off the track once each.

Mexico GP - FP1 results

FP1

All Stats

 

Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	29	1'18.380		S	197.683
2	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12		Mercedes	Mercedes	35	+0.107 1'18.487	0.107	S	197.413
3	N. Hulkenberg Sauber	27		Sauber	Ferrari	27	+0.380 1'18.760	0.273	S	196.729
4	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	31	+0.404 1'18.784	0.024	S	196.669
5	G. Bortoleto Sauber	5		Sauber	Ferrari	28	+0.536 1'18.916	0.132	S	196.340
6	A. Lindblad Red Bull Racing	36		Red Bull	Honda	26	+0.617 1'18.997	0.081	S	196.139
7	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31		Haas	Ferrari	29	+0.658 1'19.038	0.041	S	196.037
8	Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing	22		Red Bull	Red Bull	29	+0.710 1'19.090	0.052	S	195.908
9	F. Colapinto Alpine	43		Alpine	Renault	28	+0.951 1'19.331	0.241	S	195.313
10	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	33	+1.004 1'19.384	0.053	M	195.182
11	I. Hadjar Racing Bulls	6		RB	Honda	32	+1.029 1'19.409	0.025	M	195.121
12	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	26	+1.092 1'19.472	0.063	S	194.966
13	P. O'Ward McLaren	89		McLaren	Mercedes	30	+1.300 1'19.680	0.208	S	194.457
14	F. Vesti Mercedes	72		Mercedes	Mercedes	32	+1.309 1'19.689	0.009	H	194.435
15	P. Aron Alpine	61		Alpine	Renault	29	+1.482 1'19.862	0.173	S	194.014
16	R. Hirakawa Haas F1 Team	50		Haas	Ferrari	27	+1.693 1'20.073	0.211	S	193.503
17	A. Iwasa Racing Bulls	40		RB	Honda	29	+1.773 1'20.153	0.080	M	193.310
18	L. Browning Williams	46		Williams	Mercedes	31	+1.930 1'20.310	0.157	M	192.932
19	J. Crawford Aston Martin Racing	35		Aston Martin	Mercedes	29	+1.991 1'20.371	0.061	M	192.785
20	A. Fuoco Ferrari	38		Ferrari	Ferrari	29	+2.474 1'20.854	0.483	S	191.634
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