Friday in Mexico City delivered the chaotic, slippery spectacle we have come to expect from the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with Charles Leclerc setting the pace for Ferrari across both opening practice sessions. Leclerc laid down a benchmark 1:17.827 in FP2 to head the timing screens, even after surviving a lock-up and a wide moment at Turn 1 on his opening flying lap. It was a strong showing for the Scuderia, though teammate Lewis Hamilton endured a trickier afternoon. Hamilton wound up eleventh in the second session after running wide in FP1 and ultimately having to park his machine trackside due to a power unit issue.
Over at McLaren, Lando Norris slotted straight into second place in FP2 just a tenth adrift of Leclerc, despite a hefty lock-up on the medium compound that wrote those tires off for long-run duty. Oscar Piastri kept it inside the top ten in both sessions, treating the grandstands to a heart-stopping moment when he caught a massive slide. Meanwhile, Leonardo Fornaroli stepped in for Norris during FP1, surviving an eventful hour featuring multiple lock-ups and a trip across the grass. Mercedes also enjoyed a productive day as Kimi Antonelli and Fred Vesti locked out strong positions in the opening hour, with Vesti claiming an impressive third. George Russell took over in the afternoon to secure third in FP2, noting just how punishing the thin air and lack of grip make these machines.
Red Bull faced their own headaches as Max Verstappen sat out the first session for Ayumu Iwasa. Verstappen's afternoon then unravelled slightly when he made contact with Liam Lawson while scrapping for position, leaving the Dutchman to limp home a damaged floor en route to fifth. Isack Hadjar bounced back from a frustrating FP1 marred by steering wheel and brake gremlins to climb to sixth in the second session, proving there is underlying pace if they can clean up the edges. With the top teams separated by razor-thin margins and cooling concerns biting the entire pit lane, Saturday's qualifying session promises to be an absolute thriller.
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