Panorama

Leclerc dominates Mexico practice, Antonelli on title course

Charles Leclerc topped the first and second practice sessions for the Mexican GP, while Kimi Antonelli finished fourth and is on track for the championship title.

1 November 2026Tagblick Newsdesk

AI-generatedWritten by an AI system, editorially responsible — how we work

Archive photo: Leclerc dominates Mexico practice, Antonelli on title course — Archive photoPhoto: Chris501 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in the first practice session for the Mexican Grand Prix. This was confirmed by various sources, including ORF and kicker. Leclerc repeated this success in the second practice, again leading the timesheets.

Kimi Antonelli, a 20-year-old driver, finished fourth in the first practice session. Südtirol News reported that Antonelli is recovering from a viral illness and is well on his way to claiming his first world championship title.

In the second free practice, Antonelli managed to maintain his strong form and again secured fourth place. kicker noted that he is in a good position for the title, which could potentially be secured in Mexico.

Meanwhile, an incident during practice caused a stir: Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson collided and were penalized, resulting in a grid penalty. This was reported by various sources, including DER STANDARD and SRF. The penalty means that both drivers will be moved down one position on the grid.

Leclerc's best times clearly make him the favorite. According to reports from ORF and kicker, it is worth noting that Lewis Hamilton, also starting from the front row, won the qualifying session and secured pole position for Ferrari for the first time this season.

Overall, the race remains exciting as Antonelli will start from fourth position on Sunday. If he finishes in the top nine, he is expected to be crowned the youngest Formula 1 world champion in history.

This item was written by an AI system on the basis of the headlines and short teasers of the independently operating newsrooms named below. We disclose this under Art. 50(4), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act). Before publication we check origin and verifiability — anything that appears in only one place is not published — as well as language, substance and legally sensitive content. No separate substantive review of each individual item by a natural person takes place; we therefore do not rely on the exemption in Art. 50(4), second subparagraph, of the AI Act. Editorial responsibility for this publication rests with the person named in the imprint (§ 18 Abs. 2 MStV). Please report errors to [email protected] — we will correct or remove the item. Full reports are available from the sources listed.