Mexico City GP: Charles Leclerc dominates first practice from Kimi Antonelli as Ferrari show strong pace
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc put down a statement time in first practice to be more than half a second clear of the field, including Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli; watch every session of the Mexico City GP live on Sky Sports F1, with Friday's second practice at 10pm
Friday 30 October 2026 20:05, UK
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fastest from champion-elect Kimi Antonelli in first practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Leclerc was 0.659s quicker than Antonelli to underline the expectation that Ferrari will be strong at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez due to their small turbo working well at high altitude.
Lewis Hamilton was fourth after a scruffy soft-tyre lap but will be buoyed by his team-mate's pace as Ferrari look to win only their third race of the season.
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It should not majorly impact Antonelli on the weekend where he is likely to become world champion on Sunday as he only needs a top-nine finish to secure the drivers' title.
Ten rookies replaced the usual full-time drivers in first practice as most teams took advantage of the relative simplicity of the circuit and it not being a Sprint weekend to fulfil a regulation that a rookie most run in both cars at least twice in the season - only Ferrari ran both regular drivers in the session.
Mercedes reserve driver and 2023 Formula 2 runner-up Frederik Vesti was the best of the rookies in third, less than one tenth behind Antonelli, and Ayumu Iwasa impressed in Max Verstappen's Red Bull in fifth, less than one second off the pace on the medium tyres.
Perhaps most notably, Formula 2 driver Colton Herta completed 24 laps in the session which meant he drove for 100km, so has been awarded another super-licence point.
Herta now has 40 super-licence points which is the minimum amount to become a full-time Formula 1 driver and it is understood senior figures at Cadillac are keen to give him a drive in 2027.
Although Valtteri Bottas signed a multi-year contract when he joined the newcomers at the start of this year, his seat is under threat for next year from American Herta.
Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson is the other driver whose future is up in the air, despite an impressive season that sees him ninth in the Drivers' Championship, as Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov could become Formula 2 champion and Red Bull have traditionally promoted their young drivers quickly.
Estonian driver Tsolov made his practice debut in Mexico for Racing Bulls on Friday and was only one tenth behind Arvid Lindblad, overcoming an issue where he stated blood had stopped flowing in his right leg due to his seat compressing while driving.
British teenager Freddie Slater also made his first F1 practice outing for Audi but was limited to just 14 laps due to an issue, and Aston Martin rookie Jak Crawford also stopped on track with a technical issue.
Audi are under investigation for sending Slater out onto the track with a cooling fan on his car and are likely to be handed a big fine.
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar suffered a power-unit problem early in the session but did not complete any serious qualifying simulations.
All the full-time drivers will return in second practice later on Friday at 10pm, live on Sky Sports F1 and Main Event.
Sky Sports F1's live Mexico City GP schedule
Friday October 30
8pm: The F1 Show
9pm: Team Bosses' Press Conference
9.30pm: Mexico City Grand Prix Practice Two (session starts at 10pm)*
Saturday October 31
5.15pm: Mexico City Grand Prix Practice Three (session starts at 6.30pm)
8pm: Mexico City Grand Prix Qualifying build-up
9pm: MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING
11pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook
Sunday November 1
5pm: F1 Academy Race 3
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Mexico City GP build-up
8pm: THE MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX*
10pm: Chequered Flag: Mexico City GP reaction
11pm: Ted's Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 next heads south for the second leg of The Americas triple-header with the Mexico City Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
