F1 Mexico GP live: Qualifying start time with Verstappen favourite for pole ahead of Norris

F1 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES

• Round 20 of the 2025 F1 season takes place in Mexico
• Qualifying in Mexico starts at 10pm (BST) on Saturday
• Max Verstappen quickest in FP2; Leclerc 2nd; Antonelli 3rd
• Oscar Piastri has a 14-point lead over Lando Norris, with Max Verstappen 40 points behind the Aussie
• READ: Piastri vs Norris vs Verstappen - where will the F1 title be won and lost?

What are the start times this weekend in Mexico City?

All times BST/GMT

Saturday 25 October

• Free practice 3: 6:30 pm
• Qualifying: 10pm

Sunday 26 October

• Race: 8pm

Lando Norris after finishing FP2 in fourth:

“I think we’re in a reasonable place, I got up to speed very quickly, I feel like I found the limit quickly, not that it was a bad day but usually we’re very good on a Friday and everyone catches up on Saturday - we’re already a little bit behind.

“Some work to do tonight. The balance on the car is a bit all over the place.”

Oscar Piastri after finishing 12th in FP2:

“It was OK, pretty average on the softs, not surprised by the lap time. Tried a lot of things, overall I felt reasonable. See if we can shoot up tomorrow.

TOP-10 IN FP2

1. Verstappen

2. Leclerc

3. Antonelli

4. Norris

5. Hamilton

6. Russell

7. Tsunoda

8. Alonso

9. Sainz

10. Stroll

Lewis Hamilton goes off track

Most of the drivers lined up for a practice start and off down the long main straight to turn 1, but Hamilton gets it wrong, goes off-line and off-track at turn 2.

All fine though - he rejoins normally.

Max Verstappen quickest in FP2

So after a host of long runs to end the session, Max Verstappen stays fastest with a 1:17:392 - 0.153 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc in second, with Kimi Antonelli in third.

Lando Norris is fourth, 0.251 secs off Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton completing the top-five.

6-10: Russell, Tsunoda, Alonso, Sainz, Stroll

Piastri. only P12!

Verstappen still quickest

10 minutes to go. Long runs well underway.

Top-5: Verstappen, Leclerc, Antonelli, Norris, Hamilton

Piastri, unignorably, down in P12...

Jonathan Wheatley on Audi in 2026:

“It’s a tremendously exciting team, the excitement is building, the partners we’ve announced, it’s gaining momentum. It’s bursting out of us, we’re on track and looking forward to bringing the Audi car and launching a new team next year.”

Speaking to Sky Sports

TOP-10 after 30 mins

1. Verstappen - 1:17:392

2. Leclerc - 0.153

3. Russell - 0.437

4. Tsunoda - 0.491

5. Sainz - 0.547

6. Norris - 0.788

7. Piastri - 0.840

8. Hadjar -0.941

9. Hulkenberg - 0.956

10. Antonelli 1.222

Antonelli up to P2

The Italian’s car has been fixed and the 18-year-old gets involved with the big boys, sandwiched between the Ferraris in second with - a full second off Leclerc’s new-table topping lap on soft tyres.

Hamilton up to P3

All 20 drivers just getting into their groove now, with Hamilton going third - three-tenths off teammate Leclerc.

Norris separates the Ferrari pair, with Verstappen in fourth and Piastri fifth.

All the contenders at the top early on - 20 mins gone in FP2!

Leclerc quickest

Leclerc on top early on mediums, with Norris and Piastri second and third respectively.

Scrap the fix for Antonelli; he’s back in the pits due to the issue. His teammate George Russell also has a slide off-track but joins safely enough.

Antonelli problem solved

Oddly enough, Mercedes seem to have fixed the issue without the need to get their driver back on track.

Norris: “A lot of misfires out of every corner.”

Few problems early on for some drivers.

Issue for Kimi Antonelli

Antonelli: “I’ve got a problem. Limp home, it’s saying.”

Not ideal. Straight back into the pits for the Mercedes teenager...

FP2 underway!

So we’re back in action on track with second practice and, for nine drivers, their first action of the weekend on-track after the rookie outings earlier.

The likes of Verstappen, Norris, Hamilton and Russell all in the car for the first time. And they’ll be hot too - track temperature is currently 43C!

Fancy a flutter?

Currently, Max Verstappen is the favourite with the bookies heading into qualifying on Saturday:

• Max Verstappen - EVS
• Lando Norris - 2/1
• Oscar Piastri - 15/4
• Charles Leclerc, George Russell - 14/1
• Lewis Hamilton - 28/1
• Kimi Antonelli - 50/1

Odds provided by Grosvenor Sport

VIDEO: Oscar Piastri ahead of Mexico GP weekend

Top-10 in FP1

1. Leclerc - 1:18:380

2. Antonelli - 1:18:487

3. Hulkenberg - 1:18:760

4. Piastri - 1:18:784

5. Bortoleto - 1:18:916

6. Lindblad - 1:18:997

7. Ocon - 1:19:038

8. Tsunoda - 1:19:090

9. Colapinto - 1:19:331

10. Albon - 1:19:384

Charles Leclerc quickest in FP1

Leclerc stays top at the end, fastest by one-tenth to Kimi Antonelli wiht a 1:18:380.

Nico Hulkenberg takes third, with Piastri and Bortoleto completing the top-five.

Arvid Lindblad stays in sixth and is a tenth quicker than Yuki Tsunoda in the other Red Bull!

6-10: Lindblad, Ocon, Tsunoda, Colapinto, Albon

Lindbald up to P5

Bit more like it for Red Bull’s rookie - he goes six-tenths off Piastri in fifth.

Final laps coming in now...

Charles Leclerc now top of the table

Leclerc goes quickest with a 1:18:380 - 0.107 secs quicker than Antonelli in second, with Nico Hulkenberg in third and Oscar Piastri in fourth.

5-10: Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Colapinto, Albon, Hadjar

Quickest rookie now? Mercedes’ Fred Vesti, replacing George Russell, who is 12th overall.

10 mins left in FP1...

Lindblad goes wide

A shame that for the 18-year-old in Verstappen’s Red Bull!

He was setting personal best with new soft tyres in the first two sectors before going wide, ruining his lap.

Welcome to Formula One.

Top-10 in FP1 after 30 mins

1. Piastri

2. Albon

3. Hadjar

4. Antonelli

5. Iwasa

6. Tsunoda

7. Browning

8. Ocon

9. Bortoleto

10. Crawford

Kimi Antonelli goes fastest

The Mercedes driver is P1 with a 1:20:035 - 0.093 secs ahead of Isack Hadjar in second, with Esteban Ocon in third.

Luke Browning - another Brit rookie, driving for Williams - the highest of the rookies so far in P10.

20 mins gone in FP1.

Verstappen on the pit-wall

Arvid Lindblad is in the car for FP1, meaning Verstappen watches on the pit-wall!

Oscar Piastri quickest early on

It’s pretty helter-skelter early on, with every car out on track, as the drivers just get into their groove.

Oscar Piastri is the fastest so far, with Isack Hadjar P2 and Yuki Tsunoda P3.

Arvid Lindblad, the British teenager in Max Verstappen’s car, fastest out of the rookies so far.

FP1 underway!

So with a host of different drivers, we’re underway with the first session of the Mexico weekend!

Should be fun!

Five minutes from FP1 in Mexico

It’ll be a busy first session in Mexico City - especially given there are NINE rookie drivers taking part:

• Alpine: Paul Aron replaces Pierre Gasly
• Aston Martin: Jak Crawford replaces Lance Stroll
• Ferrari: Antonio Fuoco replaces Lewis Hamilton
• Haas: Ryo Hirakawa replaces Oliver Bearman
• McLaren: Pato O’Ward replaces Lando Norris
• Mercedes: Frederik Vesti replaces George Russell
• Racing Bulls: Ayumu Iwasa replaces Liam Lawson
• Red Bull: Arvid Lindblad replaces Max Verstappen
• Williams: Luke Browning replaces Carlos Sainz

Drivers must give up two FP1 sessions per season to rookie drivers (classified as drivers with two or less grand prix starts to their name)