Charles Leclerc has topped the timesheets during FP1 at the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix.
Leclerc edged out Kimi Antonelli and Nico Hulkenburg in a relatively clean session in Mexico City. Championship leader Oscar Piastri finished in fourth, while rookie Arvid Lindblad stunned in sixth.
Rookies on Track
The first free practice at the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix has nine rookies taking over from main drivers. Jak Crawford, Luke Browning and Arvid Lindblad make the jump up from Formula 2. WEC Driver Antonio Fuoco makes his F1 debut for Ferrari while Pato O’Ward returns to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with Mclaren. Reserve drivers, Paul Aron, Frederik Vesti, Ayumu Iwasa and Ryo Hirakawa all making the step up for the first practice session.
As The Sessions Happens..
15 minutes into FP1 and Isack Hadjar topped the time sheets with a 1:20:128. The Frenchman has dedicated this weekends helmet to Alain Prost’s victory at the 1990 Mexican Grand Prix.
With on track temperatures climbing up to 49 degrees, Hadjar was able to go three tenths clear of Yuki Tsunoda, who sits in second.
As the track ramped up, the times started to drop. Oscar Piastri was the first driver to break into the 1:19’s, bettering Alex Albon by three tenths. The championship leaders time was quickly bettered by Leclerc, before Kimi Antonelli went better with a 1:18.497.
Hadjar brought out a brief yellow flag after driving into the run off area with 19 minutes on the clock.
10 Minutes Remaining
With only ten minutes left In FP1 at the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix, it was Leclerc who topped the timesheets. The Ferrari driver, who is still fighting for his first win of the season, went one tenth clear of Antonelli with a 1:18.380.
Lindblad pulled off a stunning lap moving up into fifth. The Red Bull junior driver, who is completing his second free practice session, went faster than his teammate for the session, Yuki Tsunoda.
Nico Hulkenburg and Gabriel Bortoleto have had a stellar first practice, moving into third and fifth respectively. With the fight for the midfield positions in full swing, the team who ended the 2024 season in last is looking to move past Aston Martin for seventh.
As The Flag Flew
As the checkered flag was waved on FP1 at the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix, Leclerc held onto his first position. Antonelli stayed in seconds with Hulkenburg in third.
Oscar Piastri, who is hoping to improve after a subpar performance in Austin, finished the session in fourth.
Lindblad, who ended up sixth, was summoned to stewards for impeding. However, Red Bull Team Principal, Laurent Mekies praised the 18 year old saying that “the pace is clearly there.”
Franco Colapinto managed to place his Alpine into ninth. While, Fernando Alonso was the last of the full time drivers in 12th. Following Lindblad, O’Ward was the next highest rookie in 13th, 1.3 seconds behind the lead.
Formula 1 will be back for Free Practice 2 at 4pm local time (GMT-6) where all 20 full time drivers will be back in the car.
Feature Image Credits: Formula 1