2026 Mexico City GP FP1: Leclerc leads as ten teams run young drivers

Charles Leclerc led first practice for round 19 of the 2026 Formula 1 season in Mexico City with a 1:18.128. Kimi Antonelli was 0.659 seconds behind, followed by Frederik Vesti, who drove in place of George Russell. Vesti trailed Antonelli by 0.074 seconds. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and Ayumu Iwasa fifth.

Young drivers take centre stage as Vesti makes the top three

The driver line-up is essential context for the order. Formula 1 reported that ten of the eleven teams ran young drivers; Ferrari alone retained both regular race drivers. Nikola Tsolov took Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls, Freddie Slater drove Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi, and Gabriele Mini took Franco Colapinto’s Alpine, each making a first F1 practice appearance.

The timing sheet also shows different amounts of running. Vesti completed 24 laps, six fewer than Antonelli, while his best lap was only 0.074 seconds slower. He edged Hamilton by 0.005 seconds. Those are narrow gaps in this session, but different assignments and running conditions prevent a single fastest lap from establishing race pace or making a case for a race seat by itself.

Audi’s unsafe release and Crawford’s stoppage

Among the newcomers, Tsolov was 12th on 1:19.604 after 29 laps, while Mini was 14th after 22. Slater completed only 14 laps and finished 21st. Formula 1 reported that Audi sent his car out with a sidepod cooling fan still attached, followed by a prolonged spell in the garage. The stewards were due to investigate the unsafe release after the session.

Jak Crawford’s session included a stop at Turn 1 in Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, prompting a brief Virtual Safety Car. The FIA recorded 15 laps for him. Isack Hadjar continued after an early power-unit problem and finished 11th with 21 laps. Reading lap totals alongside positions makes the limited running visible.

Complete Mexico City FP1 classification

FP1 ran from 12:30 to 13:30 local time on October 30, equivalent to 02:30–03:30 on October 31 in Beijing. The table records practice times and completed laps, not the starting grid. Subsequent sessions are recorded separately. All 22 entries are included below; gaps are measured against the fastest lap.