F1 Mexico GP: Leclerc beats Antonelli to top FP1
Leclerc built an early 1:18.128 benchmark and stayed clear as 10 rookies filled the session, with Kimi Antonelli second for Mercedes.
- On Friday, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc topped the first practice session at the Mexico City Grand Prix with a 1m18.128s lap, finishing 0.659 seconds ahead of Mercedes title leader Kimi Antonelli.
- The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit sits more than 2200 metres above sea level, creating unique challenges for F1 2026 power units. Mercedes driver George Russell noted Ferrari's smaller turbo gives it 'quite an advantage' in these thin-air conditions.
- Ten rookies contested the session, with Mercedes reserve Frederik Vesti replacing Russell and finishing third. Ayumu Iwasa, substituting for Max Verstappen at Red Bull, secured fifth place.
- Antonelli needs a ninth-place finish to secure the world title if Russell wins, or tenth if Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton wins. Mercedes faces a difficult path to the constructors' title this weekend.
- The Mexico City Grand Prix continues with FP2, where teams will conduct qualifying and race simulations to understand performance. Drivers must optimize their packages in these unrepresentative conditions to succeed this weekend.
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The Argentine finished 16th in the second session, seven tenths of Gasly, and will seek improvement on Saturday.Ferrari dominated on Friday and there was an unexpected accident between two former Red Bull companions.
After mastering the first session of free training for the GP of Mexico City, Charles Leclerc also led the second session, but with a much smaller advantage: instead of the six tenths of the first training, the Monegasque was a tenth faster than
Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) marked the best time this Friday, ahead of the championship leader, Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), in the first free training for the Mexico Grand Prix, the 19th Formula q World Championship, which is held in the capitalist Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. In the best of his ... Continue reading "Formula 1: Charles Leclerc led the Frees 1 of the Mexican GP ahead of Kimi Antonelli"
After a free first hour of the weekend, Max Verstappen gets back behind the wheel during the second free practice session in Mexico. Can the Red Bull Racing driver take on the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers? Follow it live here from 11:00 PM!
Kimi Antonelli has the great possibility of writing a historic page at the Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc won the first free practice session of the F1 Mexico City weekend.
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