Charles Leclerc set the early pace at the Mexico City Grand Prix by outpacing an initial practice session full of novice drivers.
The Ferrari driver tamed the hot and dusty Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and set the benchmark at 1:18.380 seconds, beating Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by 0.107 seconds.
Third-placed Nico Hülkenberg was the first of two Sauber drivers in the top five, the German 0.38 seconds off the pace but 0.024 seconds ahead of title leader Oscar Piastri in fourth and 0.156 seconds ahead of teammate Gabriel Bortoleto in fifth.
Arvid Lindblad was the only one of the nine rookies participating in the session to be in the top 10. Lindblad, seventh in the Formula 2 championship and in the race for promotion to Racing Bulls next year, steered Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing car to sixth in the standings and 0.617 seconds off the pace in a tidy performance that will not have hurt his chances of a full-time Formula 1 debut.
However, he will face the stewards after the session for allegedly impeding McLaren’s Pato O’Ward on a fast lap. However, extenuating circumstances are likely to be cited, with a widespread failure of the television and GPS systems causing teams to lose their usual data on the pit wall.
Esteban Ocon followed in seventh place for Haas, ahead of the second Red Bull Racing car, driven by Yuki Tsunoda, who was 0.71 seconds off the pace and 0.093 seconds slower than Lindblad.
Franco Colapinto finished ninth for Alpine, ahead of Alex Albon, who completed the top 10 for Williams.
Isack Hadjar drove harmlessly deep into Turn 12 and continued his way to 11th place, ahead of Fernando Alonso.
McLaren IndyCar star O’Ward took Lando Norris’ car to 13th, ahead of Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti, who was 14th in George Russell’s W16.
Paul Aron finished 16th in Pierre Gasly’s Alpine in what could be an audition for the Estonian for a full-time drive, after de facto team boss Flavio Briatore named him as the only other driver vying for Franco Colapinto’s seat next year.
Toyota endurance racing star Ryo Hirakawa took Oliver Bearman’s Haas to 16th, ahead of Racing Bulls junior Ayumu Iwasa in Liam Lawson’s machine.
Williams junior Oliver Browning was 18th fastest in Carlos Sainz’s car, ahead of Aston Martin’s Jak Crawford, who was substituted for Lance Stroll, and former Ferrari development driver Antonio Fuoco, who replaced Lewis Hamilton.
RESULTS
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