Three different names at the top of three different practice sessions have left us all wondering what the pecking order is ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix. That said, Lando Norris topped the final session, three tenths clear of Lewis Hamilton in second.
It was rookies galore in FP1. Each driver is required to hand their car over to a rookie for at least two free practice sessions a year, and Mexico is typically the weekend when most of those swaps occur. Lando Norris handed his McLaren over to nine-time IndyCar race winner Pato O’Ward, Rio Hirakawa took Ollie Bearman’s place at Haas, while Hamilton traded places with Ferrari reserve driver Antonio Fuoco. George Russell donned a disguise and watched FP1 from the stands as Mercedes reserve Frederik Vesti took his place while Jack Crawford and Luke Browning took to the track for Aston Martin and Williams, respectively. Alpine hopeful Paul Aron stood in for Pierre Gasly and had a moment at turn four, while his teammate Franco Colapinto went deep at turn seven.
There was little in the way of chaos in FP1, though Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad did turn heads by ending the session in sixth, one tenth and three tenths ahead of Yuki Tsunoda. Having been hotly tipped for an F1 call-up all season, Lindblad was later asked about a possible RB drive for 2026. The 18-year-old admitted to not knowing if he was ready, but stated that his rapid rise through the junior ranks has required him to quickly adapt to new disciplines.
Charles Leclerc topped the first free practice session ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Nico Hulkenberg, but with so many full-time drivers on the sidelines, FP1 did little to reveal the true pecking order.
Normal service resumed in FP2, with Max Verstappen returning to the track and promptly setting the fastest time, despite a lockup at Turn 4. Leclerc ended the session second ahead of Antonelli, fuelling speculation over Mercedes and Ferrari’s true pace. Red Bull have vowed to develop the RB21 until the end of the season in order to give Verstappen the best opportunity to take the title, but the six-time constructors’ champions are one of six teams that have brought upgraded components to Mexico. Ferrari, Racing Bulls, Williams, Sauber, and Alpine have all brought new parts with the primary aim of improving cooling. A major concern, given the thinner air that results from the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez being situated over 2,200 meters above sea level. Russell went deep at turn 10 en route to sixth place at the end of the session, while Oscar Piastri could only manage 12th in FP2.
Hamilton pushed from the beginning of FP3 and was able to secure P2 with his teammate Leclerc in fourth. Norris posted a time of 1m16.633s with less than 10 minutes to go, a time no one could outdo. Verstappen voiced his concerns over poor grip and inadequate race pace and could only manage sixth come session’s end, one place behind Oscar Piastri, who has looked to be the lesser of the two McLaren drivers thus far. Piastri comes to Mexico in desperate need of a good result, having lost 64 points to Verstappen since the summer break, with Norris just 14 points off the championship lead in second. Kimi Antonelli ended up seventh, ahead of Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda. Sauber look to be in the midfield fight with Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg ending the final session in 10th and 14th respectively. Esteban Ocon ended FP3 12th despite a turn error in FP2.
Carlos Sainz could only manage 15th, while his teammate Alex Albon brushed the wall coming out of the final corner in FP2 and suffered three separate lockups in FP3. Oliver Bearman ended the final session 17th ahead of the two Alpines, while Fernando Alonso ended up last after a team detected “a small issue with the front right” on his Aston Martin.
Norris and McLaren have laid down the gauntlet in free practice, but with altitude a factor and a plethora of teams in contention already, there’s little telling as to who will take pole in Mexico.
