Practice report
Formula 1 Mexican GP
F1 Mexico GP: Charles Leclerc quickest in FP1 as Arvid Lindblad leads rookie crop
Charles Leclerc went quickest in opening practice at the Mexico GP, with Arvid Lindblad fastest of all rookies
Ben Vinel
Edited: Oct 24, 2025, 7:56 PM
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Hector Vivas / Getty Images
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. Kimi 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 View full results
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