By: The picture is very interesting in Mexico. Although this year’s cars have proved slower than those of 2025, at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit they could, for the first time this season, beat last year’s qualifying times. Twelve months ago, Lando Norris lapped in 1’15’’586. They could get close to it this year, although that benchmark may not necessarily be beaten.
There are several reasons to suggest that it could happen, however. In 2025, the cars relied heavily on aerodynamics, meaning that concept had significant shortcomings at a circuit where the air is so thin. On top of that, ahead of the 2026 edition, the track has undergone a major resurfacing. This has led Pirelli to nominate softer compounds (C3, C4 and C5), which will provide a significant boost to lap times.
Ferrari strong in qualifying trim, but loses its way on long runs
That said, Ferrari looked very strong over a single lap. Unfortunately, it lost its way somewhat in race trim. We do not have any reference from Hamilton because of the engine-related technical problem that stopped him during FP2. Looking at the times set by Leclerc on the C4 Medium, they are clearly very competitive. It is a promising pace, but towards the end, around the 10th lap, the tyre begins to degrade, lap times rise and so does Leclerc’s overall run average.
Comparison with the other top-team drivers
Lando Norris, who also used the Soft tyre, showed a far more consistent and reliable pace than Charles on the Medium (the most worrying aspect of Ferrari’s stint is that Charles experienced degradation on the C4 much earlier than the others did on the C5). Lando was the quickest, but the Russell-Antonelli pairing, particularly George, was also able to match him. We would therefore put Norris, Russell, Antonelli and Verstappen in the group of quickest cars.
At the start of the session, the Red Bull driver had contact with a VCARB, severely damaging the floor. Staying close to the front-running group despite those issues is no small feat. Max will certainly be involved in the thick of the fight on Sunday. He simply needs to stay out of trouble for the rest of the weekend. He has already lost too much time on Friday.
P.S.
Hadjar’s times also look good. What makes us reluctant to place him too close to the fight, however, are the laps completed after the tyre change. Not good, in our view.
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Mexican GP 2026
