Leclerc Tops Mexico City FP1 as Rookies Run

Charles Leclerc topped Free Practice 1 for the Mexico City Grand Prix with a 1:18.380, 0.107s clear of Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli. Sauber's Nico Hülkenberg was third, championship leader Oscar Piastri fourth, Gabriel Bortoleto fifth and Red Bull stand‑in Arvid Lindblad — the fastest rookie — sixth. Nine teams ran rookie or reserve drivers to satisfy regulations requiring teams to give track time to drivers with fewer than two Grand Prix starts; Sauber was the only team to field its regular lineup. The hour was largely incident‑free on a dusty Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, with many drivers starting on hard tyres before some switching to softs late, so times were not fully representative. Teams used FP1 mainly to evaluate reserve talent and gather setup data ahead of FP2, when regular drivers such as Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton are expected to return.