Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez | Mexico City, Mexico
Lap length: 4.303 km | Race distance: 305.354 km (71 laps)
Lap record: 1:17.774 (Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 2021)
Last year: Pole – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari, 1:15.946) | Race winner – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) | Fastest lap – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, 1:18.336)
Free Practice 1 at the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix was the most quintessentially F1 session imaginable, equal parts engineering showcase, broadcast chaos, and meme factory. Between Ferrari’s split fortunes, Red Bull’s rookie drama, and the endless chatter about cooling, fans were spoiled with both substance and spectacle.
Nine rookies took to the track, and remarkably, every single one kept it clean, an impressive outcome given the low grip, high altitude, and general unpredictability of Mexico City. In an era where the smallest mistake can ruin a weekend, the rookies’ composure was noteworthy.
Broadcast Bedlam and Familiar Faces
The broadcast booth once again became its own storyline. Jacques Villeneuve delivered another unfiltered tirade, forcing Karun Chandhok to do his best impression of restraint while Crofty desperately tried to steer the commentary back to earth. The lack of driver radio left the broadcast oddly empty, making every on-air tangent feel even louder. It was an unintended reminder of how much personality drives the F1 weekend, sometimes literally, sometimes not.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen looked every bit the future team boss as he sat observing from the Red Bull pit wall. It was one of those quietly surreal moments where the sport felt self-referential, Verstappen, the dominant champion, studying his own empire in motion.
Ferrari: First, Last, and Perfectly on Brand
Ferrari’s session was the full spectrum of F1 emotion compressed into one timing screen. The team described it as “a strong start with good data gathered,” which was technically true, though Charles Leclerc finished first, and Antonio Fuoco finished last.
It was a comic image: the prancing horse bookending the leaderboard like bread on a giant red-and-yellow sandwich. It’s hard not to appreciate the symmetry. Over time, Ferrari have turned contrast into an art form, elite performance on one side of the garage, chaos on the other.
Fuoco’s presence added another layer of intrigue. Nearly 30 and long removed from his GP2 days alongside Leclerc, he’s been one of Ferrari’s most reliable simulator and development drivers. His FP1 role here wasn’t about evaluation, it was continuity. This was a seasoned hand collecting data for the team’s thermal and aerodynamic baselines, the latest in a string of technical support appearances that make him one of Ferrari’s quiet constants.
The dynamic between Leclerc and Fuoco embodied Ferrari’s broader balance, refined speed paired with methodical testing. The humor of a P1/P20 “Ferrari Lasagna” aside, the session gave Ferrari both the validation of raw pace and the reassurance that their revised cooling setup was functioning as planned in Mexico’s punishing heat and altitude.
Cooling Wars and Aerodynamic Chess
The most fascinating storyline of FP1 wasn’t at the top of the timesheets but in the bodywork. The thin air at 2,000 meters forces teams into a constant compromise: less air density means less cooling, but also less drag. Managing that trade-off is the essence of Mexico.
Ferrari went in one direction, visibly expanded cooling apertures that looked exaggerated even by their standards, while McLaren went in the opposite, running a sealed, low-drag setup that appeared almost under-cooled. Ferrari’s approach was pragmatic: survive first, optimize later. McLaren’s was bold, banking on the efficiency of their new cooling channels and faith in the Mercedes power unit’s heat tolerance.
It’s the kind of high-stakes engineering poker that defines modern Formula 1. If McLaren’s configuration works, they could find an extra tenth per lap simply by cutting drag; if it doesn’t, both cars risk cooking themselves into DNFs. The altitude magnifies both outcomes. Cooling efficiency drops by roughly 20% here, and air pressure is around 80% of sea level. It’s a race where reliability and risk management weigh more heavily than top speed.
Ferrari’s oversized vents drew laughter online, but there’s real logic behind the design. The team prioritized consistent airflow management in the hottest parts of the car, a safeguard against the unpredictable crosswinds and temperature swings of the high-altitude circuit.
Red Bull’s Rookie Gamble and the Context Vacuum
Red Bull’s FP1 lineup, Yuki Tsunoda paired with 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad, was always going to be scrutinized, but the fallout was pure 2020s F1: instant, viral, and often wrong.
Lindblad’s P6 and Tsunoda’s P8 looked like a headline in the making, and quickly became one. Within minutes of Red Bull’s social post, major outlets were running stories about the rookie “outpacing” Tsunoda, ignoring the obvious context: different programs, different tires, different timing. Lindblad was sent out late on softs to perform a single qualifying-style run; Tsunoda, by contrast, spent the session collecting long-run data for Verstappen’s race simulations on harder compounds.
This wasn’t a “who’s faster” comparison; it was a structured data-gathering exercise. But context rarely survives online. As track conditions improved by the minute, late runners like Lindblad were naturally rewarded. Red Bull know this, but they also understand the media value of a good headline, especially one that positions their junior program as thriving. Whether by design or indifference, the optics worked: Lindblad looked confident, quick, and in control, even if the data says his job was entirely different from Yuki’s.
The nuance here speaks to how Red Bull operates. Tsunoda’s telemetry almost certainly fed Verstappen’s car preparation, while Lindblad’s run offered a snapshot of single-lap potential in evolving conditions. Both achieved their objectives, even if the scoreboard told a spicier story.
It’s worth noting that Red Bull’s rookie gap, between Lindblad and Tsunoda, was the smallest on the grid. In practical terms, that’s more reflective of Tsunoda’s workload than any shortfall in form. But it also reinforces how precise Red Bull’s testing programs are: they extract maximum data from every minute, even when the narrative outside the garage turns chaotic.
The FP1 Classification and the Real Takeaways
2025 Mexico City Grand Prix – FP1 Top 10
- Charles Leclerc 1:18.380
- Kimi Antonelli
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Oscar Piastri
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Arvid Lindblad
- Esteban Ocon
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Franco Colapinto
- Alexander Albon
Leclerc’s lap was clean, composed, and representative of Ferrari’s improved balance in medium-speed corners. Behind him, Antonelli quietly impressed, a strong, error-free showing that underlined why Mercedes rates him so highly. Hülkenberg’s P3 for Stake Sauber was another reminder that, on low-fuel Fridays, he remains one of the sharpest one-lap drivers on the grid.
Further down, Bortoleto and Colapinto showcased why the 2025 rookie class is being hailed as the most disciplined in years. Their smooth runs and minimal errors helped their teams gather uninterrupted data, something that can’t always be said for seasoned veterans.
The overall picture was one of restraint. Engine modes were clearly low across the field, with top speeds hovering around 310-312 km/h, nearly 50 km/h short of what’s achievable in full race trim. Alpine, despite pushing their aging engines harder, still trailed in straight-line performance. Franco Colapinto’s car, running the oldest power unit on the grid, looked visibly limited, suggesting Alpine may be nursing it toward a planned retirement after this weekend.
Aesthetics and Engineering Elegance
If there was one universal agreement, it was that the cars this weekend looked spectacular. Ferrari’s sculpted curves, Mercedes’ neatly integrated cooling gills, and McLaren’s tight bodywork exemplified three completely different aerodynamic philosophies, yet all of them fit the circuit’s demands in their own way. Even Red Bull’s more functional “cut-out” sidepods drew admiration for their precision.
Mexico City’s unique environment always reveals the extremes of design. At this altitude, drag reduction is worth less, but thermal management is worth everything, meaning every vent, slit, and contour is part of a finely tuned equation.
The Broader Storyline
FP1 at the Mexican Grand Prix is rarely representative, but it always foreshadows the weekend’s narrative. The conditions will punish teams that overcommit to one direction, and the difference between “optimized” and “overheated” can be decided by half a degree.
Ferrari’s cautious optimism, McLaren’s risk-taking, Red Bull’s quiet data collection, and a rookie field that looked more mature than many expected, all of it combined into a session that said more about the sport’s current state than the stopwatch ever could.
It wasn’t a session defined by lap times, but by approach. Teams balanced engineering risk with strategic restraint, while fans balanced analysis with irony. FP1 reminded us that modern Formula 1 exists at the intersection of performance and perception, where even a “Ferrari Lasagna” can tell you something about the state of the grid.
Final Thoughts
Between Ferrari’s symmetrical absurdity, McLaren’s daring aero gamble, Red Bull’s contextless social storm, and the impressive composure of nine rookies, Free Practice 1 in Mexico City encapsulated modern F1 perfectly: part science, part theater, and completely unfiltered.
In the thin air of Mexico City, the engines struggled for oxygen, but the storylines had never breathed easier.
Spicy indeed.