As announced, Max Verstappen was absent, but there were many rookies and Charles Leclerc, who clocked the fastest time in Mexico City during the first practice. The opening session of the race weekend usually doesn’t reveal much, but this time, due to the absence of nine drivers, it’s even less indicative.
Pato O’Ward (McLaren), Antonio Fuoco (Ferrari), Fredrik Vesti (Mercedes), Arvid Lindblad (Red Bull), Jack Crawford (Aston Martin), Ryo Hirakawa (Haas), Ayumu Iwasa (Racing Bulls), Luke Browning (Williams), and Paul Aron (Alpine). These nine drivers are rookies participating in the first free practice. Some of them might become regular drivers in the future.
From the group that already belongs to this category, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are the main absentees in the first practice. The Dutchman is seen with headphones on at the pit wall of Red Bull Racing, an unusual sight. Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Lance Stroll, Liam Lawson, Carlos Sainz, Oliver Bearman, and Pierre Gasly also give up their cars for the first free practice in Mexico.
Red Bull Update
Verstappen’s replacement is Lindblad. He gets to drive the RB21, a car that is under more scrutiny than usual this weekend. Not only because of Verstappen’s surge in the title race – he is only 40 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri – but also because Red Bull has made modifications to the floor and sidepods for this weekend.
Lindblad, who is hoping for a seat in F1 and is mentioned as a candidate for Racing Bulls, shows his speed in FP1 in Mexico, where he is the best of the nine substitutes. Lindblad finishes sixth, just sixteenth off the fastest time. He outperforms Yuki Tsunoda in the other Red Bull, for what it’s worth in free practice.
The regular drivers quickly dominate the session in terms of lap times. Isack Hadjar initially leads, but with just over half an hour to go, Piastri takes over the lead on soft tires. Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli, and Nico Hülkenberg overtake him. In the final phase, Piastri briefly goes off the track, but there are hardly any incidents. The top three remain the same, with Leclerc being the fastest.
The second free practice, with Verstappen in the RB21, starts at 22:00 UTC.
