Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace in the opening practice session of the Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, a session heavily dominated by the presence of 10 rookie drivers taking to the track.
Leclerc was 0.659 seconds faster than Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli on soft tyres, with the young Italian aiming to clinch his maiden Formula 1 world championship this weekend by securing a top-nine finish in Sunday's race.
Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti slotted into third position, seven tenths off the pace, stepping in for George Russell during the opening hour of running under low-grip 'green track' conditions.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton failed to set a representative soft tyre lap time after making a mistake in the iconic Stadium section. Ferrari remained the only team not fielding a rookie, allowing Hamilton to utilize the session for experimental runs on his SF-26.
The influx of debutants created a mixed-up timesheet behind the leaders. Ayumu Iwasa put in a strong performance for Red Bull in fifth, ahead of Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, and Oscar Piastri, while Ollie Bearman and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top ten.
Drama struck several garages as Bearman's Haas returned trailing smoke due to a reported broken component, and Isack Hadjar battled power unit issues that limited his progress to eleventh.
Formula 2 contender Nikola Tsolov finished twelfth on his practice debut despite battling physical discomfort, while Freddie Slater faced technical restrictions in his Audi.
At the back of the field, Colton Herta completed the running for Cadillac, securing his crucial 40th superlicence point to open the door for a potential full-time race seat in the future.
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