Charles Leclerc completed a clean sweep of Friday practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix, leading a closely contested second session ahead of Lando Norris and George Russell, while Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton was forced to stop on track with a technical problem.
Leclerc set the benchmark at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez with a 1:17.827 on soft tyres, having also topped the opening practice session earlier in the day.
The Ferrari driver finished ahead of Norris and Russell, with just 0.106 seconds separating the leading three. Kimi Antonelli completed the top four for Mercedes, followed by the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.
Arvid Lindblad took seventh for Racing Bulls, ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri, who rounded out the top ten.
Hamilton’s running cut short by technical trouble
Ferrari’s encouraging pace was accompanied by a setback on the other side of the garage as Hamilton’s session ended prematurely.
The seven-time world champion had briefly headed the timesheets during the opening stages, posting a 1:18.741 before attention turned towards the soft-tyre qualifying simulations.
Hamilton subsequently encountered difficulties on his flying lap before reporting a loss of power. Ferrari instructed him to stop the car, which he parked between Turns 3 and 4.
A Virtual Safety Car was deployed while the stranded Ferrari was dealt with, leaving Hamilton unable to complete the remainder of his programme.
He finished 11th, having missed a substantial portion of the session.
Verstappen and Lawson make contact
The session had already been interrupted by a red flag following an incident involving Verstappen and Lawson in the final sector.
The two drivers ran side by side through the closing section of the circuit, with neither yielding position. Contact between the Red Bull and Racing Bulls cars resulted in damage to Verstappen’s car, leaving debris on the track.
Race control suspended running to allow the debris to be cleared.
Lawson expressed his frustration over the team radio following the encounter, while both drivers were subsequently able to feature inside the top ten.
Verstappen eventually secured fifth place after returning to the track on soft tyres, with Lawson finishing ninth.
Tight margins ahead of qualifying
The competitive order remained closely matched as teams switched to qualifying simulations during the second half of the session.
Norris initially moved to the top with a 1:18.161 before Leclerc improved to 1:17.966 and then lowered the benchmark further to 1:17.827.
Russell subsequently climbed to third, just 0.003 seconds behind Norris, underlining the narrow margins at the front.
The top six positions were occupied by Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull, while the leading 11 drivers were separated by less than seven tenths of a second.
Further down the order, Fernando Alonso finished 12th ahead of Esteban Ocon, Oliver Bearman and Nico Hülkenberg.
Franco Colapinto, Carlos Sainz, Sergio Pérez, Alex Albon, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas followed, with Gabriel Bortoleto completing the classification.
Bortoleto’s running was particularly limited after an apparent leak was detected on his Audi earlier in the session. He eventually returned to the circuit, but had little opportunity to complete a meaningful programme.
With Friday running complete, teams will now analyse their qualifying simulations and longer runs ahead of Saturday’s final practice session and qualifying.
Leclerc leaves the opening day with the fastest lap in both sessions, although the closely matched times suggest the battle for grid positions remains open.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari SF-26 | 1:17.827 | 35 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes MCL40 | 1:17.930 | 33 |
| 3 | George Russell | Mercedes W17 | 1:17.933 | 31 |
| 4 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes W17 | 1:18.044 | 33 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull RBPT Ford RB22 | 1:18.138 | 26 |
| 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull RBPT Ford RB22 | 1:18.237 | 31 |
| 7 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls RBPT Ford VCARB 03 | 1:18.389 | 34 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Mercedes A526 | 1:18.407 | 33 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls RBPT Ford VCARB 03 | 1:18.455 | 32 |
| 10 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes MCL40 | 1:18.469 | 31 |
| 11 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari SF-26 | 1:18.512 | 13 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Honda AMR26 | 1:18.596 | 30 |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari VF-26 | 1:18.774 | 32 |
| 14 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari VF-26 | 1:18.849 | 32 |
| 15 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi F1 R26 | 1:19.023 | 35 |
| 16 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine Mercedes A526 | 1:19.132 | 34 |
| 17 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes FW48 | 1:19.248 | 28 |
| 18 | Sergio Pérez | Cadillac Ferrari MAC-26 | 1:19.406 | 33 |
| 19 | Alex Albon | Williams Mercedes FW48 | 1:19.578 | 31 |
| 20 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Honda AMR26 | 1:19.631 | 24 |
| 21 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac Ferrari MAC-26 | 1:20.165 | 33 |
| 22 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi F1 R26 | 1:20.174 | 12 |
