FORMULA 1 PRACTICES DONE: EYES ON QUALIFYING
In the first free practice session of the 2025 Mexico Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc led the way with a lap of 1:18.380, just ahead of rookie Kimi Antonelli, who impressed with 1:18.487 to take second place. Nico Hülkenberg was third, followed by Oscar Piastri and Gabriel Bortoleto completing the top five. Nine rookie or reserve drivers took part in the session as part of the mandatory rookie running rule. The fastest among them was Arvid Lindblad, standing in for Max Verstappen, who finished sixth with a time of 1:18.997. Franco Colapinto ended the session in eighth, Paul Aron in tenth, Alex Albon in twelfth, and Isack Hadjar in fourteenth. Local favorite Pato O’Ward placed sixteenth, followed by Frederik Vesti in seventeenth, Luke Browning in nineteenth, and Antonio Fuoco rounding out the rookie group in twentieth.
Free Practice 2
The session took place under warm and dry conditions, but with the typically dusty surface, grip levels were low early on. As the track improved toward the end, lap times began to tumble, giving the rookies valuable running time and allowing experienced drivers to begin initial setup work for the high-altitude weekend.
Max Verstappen topped Free Practice 2 with a lap of 1:17.392, reclaiming pace after sitting out FP1. Charles Leclerc followed 0.153s behind in second, while Kimi Antonelli completed the top three with a gap of 0.174s. Lando Norris was the fastest McLaren in fourth, and Lewis Hamilton secured fifth.
The session ran under warm, dry conditions. Antonelli experienced technical issues early on and was forced to limp back to the pits, but later returned to the track to resume his program. Many drivers used the soft tyre for qualifying simulations, but also shifted to medium rubber for longer runs and race-prep stints. Verstappen’s one-lap pace was solid, but he and others struggled for grip and consistency over longer runs — a potential concern looking ahead to the race.
Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri, who had been strong in FP1, slipped down the order in FP2, finishing in 12th, around 0.840s off Verstappen. The session highlighted that while outright speed is there, race setup and tyre management will be crucial for the weekend.
Free Practice 3
In the final practice session before qualifying for the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix, Lando Norris topped the timesheets with an impressive lap of 1:16.633, marking McLaren’s strongest showing of the weekend so far. Norris appeared confident throughout the session, extracting excellent pace from the soft tyres during his qualifying simulation. Lewis Hamilton followed in second with a 1:16.978, just over three-tenths behind, continuing Mercedes’ encouraging form at the high-altitude Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. George Russell reinforced Mercedes’ pace with third place on 1:17.145, making it a close battle between the two British drivers and Norris at the top.
Behind them, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri finished fourth and fifth respectively, both within two-tenths of Russell’s time. Ferrari appeared focused on fine-tuning their race balance rather than outright one-lap pace, as both Leclerc and teammate Sainz (who ended the session 11th) ran longer stints early on. Max Verstappen, returning to full rhythm after a quiet FP2, took sixth place with a 1:17.242, less than a tenth ahead of rookie Kimi Antonelli, who continued to impress with seventh. Antonelli’s consistency over the three practice sessions has drawn attention, with the young Italian again showing maturity and control under pressure.
Further down the order, Isack Hadjar surprised many by placing eighth, making the most of AlphaTauri’s solid pace through the middle sector. Yuki Tsunoda followed closely in ninth, while Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top ten after another confident session in the Sauber, showing steady improvement since FP1. The session began under slightly cooler conditions than Friday, but as the track rubbered in, grip levels improved, leading to faster lap times and a flurry of late flying laps.
All eyes on qualifying
Heading into qualifying for the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix, the battle for pole looks wide open. Lando Norris and the two Mercedes drivers, Hamilton and Russell, appear strong favorites after their FP3 pace, with McLaren showing excellent one-lap speed. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc remains a dark horse — slightly off in FP3 but typically strong when it counts. Max Verstappen is expected to rebound in qualifying after a quieter practice, while rookie Kimi Antonelli could be a surprise contender for Q3 given his impressive consistency all weekend. The thin air in Mexico will make power unit performance and cooling crucial, so small setup decisions could decide who claims pole in what looks set to be an incredibly close session.
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