Formula 1 returned to high altitude and hot conditions at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Friday, where Max Verstappen ended the day fastest, while Kiwi driver Liam Lawson impressed with 11th place in his sole practice session ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix.
It was a day of mixed conditions and contrasting priorities, as teams balanced rookie obligations in Free Practice 1 with full-time drivers reclaiming their seats for Free Practice 2, and as the battle for both championships continues to tighten heading into the final stretch of the 2025 season.
A new generation of drivers dominated Friday’s opening session as no fewer than nine rookies took to the track. Formula 1 regulations require teams to give young drivers seat time each season, and this weekend saw several hopefuls make their case for future opportunities.
Arvid Lindblad, driving Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, was among the standouts.
The 18-year-old Brit clocked the sixth-fastest time, just 0.617s off Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who topped the hour with a 1m18.380s lap. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was second, and Nico Hülkenberg’s Kick Sauber finished third.
The dusty, sun-baked circuit, with track temperatures reaching 48°C, made for tricky conditions, but the rookies handled the challenge well.
Paul Aron (Alpine), Luke Browning (Williams), and Jak Crawford (Aston Martin) all completed solid outings, while Racing Bulls’ Ayumu Iwasa took over Liam Lawson’s car for the session, finishing 17th.
Leclerc’s benchmark lap came late on the soft compound tyres, edging Antonelli by a mere 0.1s. Behind them, championship leader Oscar Piastri was fourth, while Lindblad outperformed Red Bull stablemates Yuki Tsunoda (8th) and Isack Hadjar (11th).
It was a particularly valuable session for Red Bull and Racing Bulls, who tested updated floor and cooling packages designed to cope with Mexico’s thin air, a factor that regularly challenges brakes, tyres, and engines.
For the afternoon’s Free Practice 2, all 20 full-time drivers were back behind the wheel. Liam Lawson, having sat out FP1, rejoined the action in his Racing Bulls car and quickly got up to speed.
After an initial acclimatisation phase on the medium tyres, Lawson’s pace built steadily. His best lap, a 1m18.218s on soft tyres, put him 11th fastest, just 0.264s shy of the top 10 and 0.826s off Verstappen’s session-topping 1m17.392s.
The Kiwi completed 32 laps without issue, using mediums for the bulk of his running before switching to softs for a qualifying simulation. His improvement on the red-walled tyres was immediate, jumping him ahead of his teammate Isack Hadjar (14th) and within striking distance of Yuki Tsunoda (7th).
Though both Racing Bulls drivers are still fighting for a seat in 2026, Lawson’s consistency stood out.
Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko confirmed that this weekend would be the last opportunity for the Red Bull–backed trio, Lawson, Tsunoda, and Hadjar, to impress before decisions are made for the 2026 lineup.
Lawson’s only real interruption came when Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli voiced frustration after being held up by the Kiwi late in the session, a moment that underscored how tightly packed the midfield was around the Mexico City circuit.
At the sharp end of the timesheets, Max Verstappen led the way in FP2, his 1m17.392s putting the Red Bull just 0.153s ahead of Leclerc’s Ferrari. Antonelli recovered from early technical issues to go third, while Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and George Russell rounded out the top six.
Tsunoda’s strong showing placed him seventh, ahead of Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, and Lance Stroll. Behind them, Lawson led the next group, with Oscar Piastri struggling for grip and ending the day 12th.
Verstappen’s session wasn’t entirely smooth; he later reported that driving on the medium tyres was “like ice,” while Russell and others echoed concerns about rear-end stability as track temperatures cooled.
Nevertheless, Red Bull’s reigning World Champion looked confident with his updated floor and continued his long-run pace evaluation into the final minutes.
As teams now analyse data from both sessions, the signs point toward a closely fought qualifying battle.
Ferrari appears competitive on single-lap pace, Red Bull’s upgrades are performing well in the high-altitude conditions, and McLaren is still within striking distance despite a quieter afternoon.
For Liam Lawson, Friday marked a solid return to the cockpit, and potentially a pivotal moment in his fight for a 2026 seat.
After a composed and consistent FP2 performance, the Kiwi has every reason to feel optimistic heading into the final practice and qualifying.
Qualifying for the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix begins at 10:00 am NZT on Sunday, with the race itself to follow on Monday morning NZST.
Header Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
