Leclerc leads Mexico City Grand Prix first practice

Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in first practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix, leading Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by 0.659 seconds at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti was third, 0.733 seconds behind Leclerc, in a session that gave drivers from 10 teams rookie running. Leclerc’s best lap was 1:18.128. Antonelli finished second, while Vesti took the seat of George Russell for the session. Lewis Hamilton was fourth in the other Ferrari, 0.738 seconds off Leclerc’s pace. Ayumu Iwasa, standing in for Max Verstappen at Red Bull, placed fifth. The top 10 also included Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, Oscar Piastri, Oliver Bearman and Arvid Lindblad. Ferrari was the only team to use its regular lineup. The other teams put stand-in drivers on track as part of their rookie running, producing a grid that differed substantially from the one expected for the rest of the weekend. Among them, Nikola Tsolov made his Formula 1 practice debut for Racing Bulls, while Freddie Slater drove for Audi. Track grip changed quickly as cars laid rubber on the dusty surface. Early lap times were slower, and several drivers ran wide or locked up. Leclerc moved...