Ferrari's Charles Leclerc lit up the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in a dusty opening practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix, clocking a session-best 1m18.380s.
With title heavyweights Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton sidelined to meet F1's rookie regulations, nine young guns seized the spotlight on a grip-starved circuit.
The track's infamous dirt layer kept times sluggish, with most drivers nursing hard compounds for the first 25 minutes.
Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli led this phase at 1m20.035s, but Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar edged him with a 1m20.005s on mediums—still lightyears from Carlos Sainz's 2024 pole of 1m15.946s.
As the session heated up, soft tyres unleashed sharper laps, though all remained over two seconds shy of last year's benchmark.
Leclerc On Top as Lindblad Shines
Leclerc's flyer put him clear at the top, with Antonelli slotting into second at 1m18.487s – a mere 0.107s adrift.
Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg snagged third, 0.378s back, while McLaren's Oscar Piastri, the points leader, claimed fourth. Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top five in the second Sauber, highlighting the Swiss squad's early rookie quota fulfillment for 2025.
Red Bull's Arvid Lindblad, Verstappen's stand-in and a Racing Bulls prospect, shone brightest among the newbies with a late 1m18.997s for sixth – impressive poise on debut.
Rookies Fill the Back, Softs Optional
The rest of the rookies littered the bottom of the sheets, but context matters: Ayumu Iwasa (Racing Bulls), Luke Browning (Williams), and Jak Crawford (Aston Martin) skipped softs entirely, as did Hadjar and Williams' Alex Albon.
Ferrari's Antonio Fuoco of Le Mans glory, appeared more focused on mileage than outright pace.
With grip set to improve, Friday's full FP2 promises a step-up in pace from the stars. But for now, Leclerc's edge signals Ferrari's intent in the altitude-choked chaos.
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