Free Practice 1 from the 2026 Mexican Grand Prix is in the books, with Charles Leclerc setting the pace early on in Mexico City.
Just how representative the session proves to be remains to be seen, with 10 full-time drivers having been replaced for the session as teams look to comply with F1’s rules on giving FP1 sessions to rookie drivers.
Nevertheless, Leclerc was the driver to top the timesheets with his 1:18.128-second effort around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, edging Mercedes star and championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 0.659 seconds. Don't forget, Antonelli can win the championship at this grand prix.
Third spot in FP1 went to Frederik Vesti, who replaced George Russell for the session, while Lewis Hamilton wrapped up fourth in a strong early showing for Ferrari. P5, meanwhile, went to Max Verstappen’s FP1 replacement, Ayumu Iwasa.
Elsewhere in Mexico City, Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin made a strong start to the event, finishing the session in P7, though there was disappointment for Jak Crawford in the other car, forced to return to park his car at the side of the track mid-session with a suspected ERS issue. Oscar Piastri, Ollie Bearman and Arvid Lindblad rounded out FP1’s top 10 in that order.
With that said, let’s take a look at the full results and times from the session below!
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Mexican Grand Prix FP1 results and times
Here is how the drivers finished Friday afternoon’s first practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:18.128 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.659 |
| 3 | Frederik Vesti | Mercedes | +0.733 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.738 |
| 5 | Ayumu Iwasa | Red Bull | +0.985 |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.082 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +1.229 |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +1.248 |
| 9 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | +1.284 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +1.350 |
| 11 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +1.417 |
| 12 | Nikola Tsolov | Racing Bulls | +1.476 |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +1.480 |
| 14 | Gabriele Mini | Alpine | +1.818 |
| 15 | Ryo Hirakawa | Haas | +1.854 |
| 16 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +1.878 |
| 17 | Leonardo Fornaroli | McLaren | +2.107 |
| 18 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | +2.267 |
| 19 | Jak Crawford | Aston Martin | +2.675 |
| 20 | Luke Browning | Williams | +2.741 |
| 21 | Freddie Slater | Audi | +2.817 |
| 22 | Colton Herta | Cadillac | +3.237 |
Is there F1 today?
Yes, there is one more F1 session later today. FP2 gets underway in Mexico City at 16:00 local time, or 22:00 GMT. For start times elsewhere in the world or details on how to watch, you can find all of the information you need here.
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