FP1: Leclerc beats Antonelli and Hulkenberg to top opening practice in Mexico
On the back of his first podium finish since the Belgian Grand Prix last time out at Austin, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc set the benchmark in the opening practice at this weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix. F1Technical' senior writer Balazs Szabo reports on FP1.
The session was an unsusual one because no fewer than nine rookie drivers were in action during the one-hour session on Friday, with Kick Sauber the only team not to field a junior driver at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Charles Leclerc looked to struggle on the hard compound in the opening stages of FP1, but he bounced back on the soft tyres. The Monegasque needed a second lap on the red-walled tyres to extract the maximum, but his second effort was enough for him to finish a tenth faster than Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Kick Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg has seemingly carried over his fine form from Texas to finish third, just under four tenths back, with Drivers' Championship leader Oscar Piastri having ended up fourth.
Following his tough weekend at Texas, Gabriel Bortoleto displayed an encouraging performance in the opening six-minute at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez, taking fifth.
Arvid Lindblad was the best of the stand-in drivers and finished sixth at the wheel of Max Verstappen's RB21, while Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda ended up eighth behind Esteban Ocon, as Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon completed the top 10.
Isack Hadjar looked very competitive in the opening stages of the session, but he ended up only 11th, ahead of Aston Martin's two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso.
From the remaining stand-in drivers, McLaren's Pato O'Ward led Frederik Vesti, who took over George Russell's Mercedes W16 in FP1. Alpine driver Paul Aron took 15, from Haas driver Ryo Hirakawa in P16 and Racing Bulls racer Ayumu Iwasa in P17.
Completing his second FP1 outing this season, Luke Browning replaced Carlos Sainz in FP1, setting the 18th quickest time, while Jak Crawford and Antonio Fuoco, who took over Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari, brought up the rear.
