Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led the field during the first practice session at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The session, held on a notoriously dirty track surface, saw teams take advantage of the opportunity to fulfill mandatory rookie driver requirements, with 10 teams opting to field young talents in their cars. Ferrari remained the only team to field both of their primary race drivers throughout the outing.
Leclerc finished the session 0.659 seconds ahead of Kimi Antonelli, who currently stands on the cusp of securing his first world championship title.
Antonelli enters the weekend knowing that a ninth-place finish would guarantee him the trophy regardless of other outcomes. His path to the title would only be complicated by a victory from team-mate George Russell or Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton; in those specific scenarios, Antonelli would require a ninth or 10th-place result, respectively, to clinch the crown.
Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti, substituting for Russell, secured the third-fastest time, while Hamilton rounded out the leading positions. Behind the top contenders, Red Bull’s substitute Ayumu Iwasa, standing in for Max Verstappen, impressed with the fifth-fastest time. He was followed by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Haas driver Oliver Bearman, and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad, who rounded out the top 10.
For Audi, the weekend got off to a difficult start as British driver Freddie Slater faced significant reliability issues. The technical setbacks limited his track time to just 14 laps, representing about half of the standard mileage expected in a practice run. Despite these challenges, Slater managed to return to the circuit in the final 20 minutes to record the 19th-fastest time, finishing just behind Williams driver Luke Browning. But he did manage to get out for the final 20 minutes or so and set the 19th fastest time.
Meanwhile, Colton Herta, a potential candidate for a 2025 seat at Cadillac, recorded the 22nd-fastest time. The team expressed confidence that Herta has now completed the necessary mileage to secure the 40 points required for the superlicence needed to participate in Formula 1 racing. The team believe he has now done enough miles to secure the 40 points he needs to secure the superlicence required to run in F1.
