Charles Leclerc completed an impressive Friday at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, setting the fastest time in both free practice sessions for Ferrari. The Monegasque driver once again demonstrated the SF-26’s potential over a single lap, although he acknowledged that the team still has areas to improve before Saturday’s qualifying session.
Ferrari finished at the top of the timesheets in both FP1 and FP2 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, continuing a pattern that has emerged on several Fridays throughout the 2026 Formula 1 season. However, the main question remains whether the Scuderia can translate that early speed into a genuine challenge for pole position.
Charles Leclerc leads both Mexico GP practice sessions
Charles Leclerc was the quickest driver in the opening practice session and repeated that performance during the afternoon’s FP2 running. The Ferrari driver completed 29 laps in the morning and another 35 in the afternoon, recording a best time of 1:17.966.
The result represents another encouraging start to a Grand Prix weekend for the Italian team. Nevertheless, Ferrari has experienced similar situations earlier in the championship, with promising Friday performances not always translating into the same competitiveness when qualifying arrives.
There is therefore considerable interest in whether the Maranello squad can maintain its advantage into Saturday and fight for pole position, or whether rival teams will once again move ahead as they have done on previous occasions.
The performance also comes during a weekend in which Ferrari faces a different technical challenge with the SF-26 in Mexico, making the progression from Friday practice to qualifying particularly important.
Charles Leclerc pleased with Ferrari’s pace but highlights remaining limitations
Despite leading both sessions, Charles Leclerc was measured in his assessment of Ferrari’s performance. In comments released by the team, he acknowledged that the overall pace looked encouraging but stressed that several weaknesses still needed attention.
Charles Leclerc explained: “Overall, our performance seems quite good, but we still need to work on some of our limitations. It was also quite difficult on track today because the asphalt was very slippery. We’ll work this evening to try to improve for tomorrow.”
The slippery track surface was therefore an important factor in Friday’s running, while the work planned for the evening will focus on improving the car ahead of the next day of action.
Grip had already been identified as an important consideration for the Mexican weekend, with Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur highlighting the challenges posed by the circuit’s conditions.
Can Ferrari convert Friday’s speed into a Mexico GP pole position challenge?
The priority for Ferrari is now to build on its promising opening day without allowing the limitations identified by Charles Leclerc to undermine its performance in qualifying. Although the Monegasque topped both sessions, the experience of previous races means Friday’s results alone cannot guarantee the same competitive order on Saturday.
Comparisons between the drivers’ practice performances and longer runs can also be explored through the ScuderiaFans F1 Practice and Long-Run Analysis statistics tool.
For Charles Leclerc, the immediate task is clear: use Friday’s encouraging pace as a foundation while addressing the areas where the SF-26 still needs improvement. Whether Ferrari can remain at the front when the fight for pole position begins will be one of the central questions of the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.
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