Source: Official Team Post via X
Leclerc Leads Mexican GP FP1 as Herta Secures FIA Super Licence
Charles Leclerc dominated the first practice session at the 2026 Mexican Grand Prix, while Colton Herta achieved a significant milestone by earning his FIA Super Licence. Rookie drivers were spotlighted during the session, with Ferrari being the only team fielding both regular drivers.
Charles Leclerc kicked off the 2026 Mexican Grand Prix weekend by setting the fastest time in the first practice session. The Ferrari driver outpaced Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who is on the verge of clinching the championship, to take the top spot in FP1. Meanwhile, Colton Herta made headlines by securing the final point needed for his FIA Super Licence.
A flurry of rookie drivers took to the track, with ten newcomers getting a taste of F1 action. The list of stand-ins included Frederik Vesti for Mercedes, Ayumu Iwasa for Red Bull, Leonardo Fornaroli for McLaren, Colton Herta for Cadillac, and several others. This left Ferrari as the only team running both of its regular drivers in the session.
Lewis Hamilton, experimenting with aero rakes on his SF-26, was among the first out when the session began. Antonelli initially topped the timesheets, only to have his time deleted for exceeding track limits. The session saw drivers primarily using hard and medium tyres to navigate the high-altitude demands of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, which sits over 2200 meters above sea level.
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar reported power issues with his RB22, prompting a return to the pits for investigation. Meanwhile, McLaren's Fornaroli and Oscar Piastri had incidents at Turns 11 and 1, respectively, with Piastri briefly taking to the grass.
At the session's midpoint, Leclerc led with a time of 1:19.197, three-tenths ahead of Antonelli. Aero rakes were removed from Hamilton's car as the session progressed. Audi's Freddie Slater faced multiple setbacks, including an embarrassing oversight with a cooling fan left in the sidepod, leading to an investigation for unsafe release.
As the session wound down, Ferrari brought out the soft tyres, allowing Leclerc to improve his time to 1:18.128, comfortably ahead of Antonelli. Hamilton experienced a slide at Turn 13, preventing him from improving his position.
Further down the order, Herta diligently completed his laps, ultimately achieving the FIA Super Licence milestone with 24 laps, finishing the session with 30. Vesti impressed by climbing to third, just a whisker off Antonelli's pace, while Jak Crawford's session ended early due to a stoppage at the T1/2 run-off.
As the track went green again, Slater surprisingly returned to the fray, hoping for better luck, and managed to get a time on the board. Meanwhile, Racing Bulls' Nikola Tsolov had a moment of discomfort but managed to continue. Sainz expressed frustration with Vesti's Mercedes, feeling impeded.
The session concluded with Leclerc comfortably on top, followed by Antonelli and Vesti, while Herta's achievement marked a significant step in his racing career.