Charles Leclerc Dominates Practice as Penalties Hit Max Verstappen

Charles Leclerc set the pace during practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Friday while Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson received grid penalties following a collision.

Leclerc posted a lap of 1 minute 17.827 seconds to top both sessions at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Kimi Antonelli finished fourth fastest in the second session, while Lewis Hamilton placed 11th after suffering a technical failure.

Antonelli enters the weekend on the verge of securing his first world title. The 20-year-old Italian driver needs only a ninth-place finish in Sunday's race to become the youngest champion in Formula 1 history.

"I was feeling really good in the car," said Hamilton, the Ferrari driver. "It's just my luck."

Verstappen and Lawson clashed during the second practice session in an incident that left both cars damaged. Race stewards ruled that both drivers behaved unacceptably and handed each a one-place grid penalty for Sunday.

The collision occurred as Verstappen prepared for a flying lap while Lawson was on a cool-down lap. Both drivers admitted to the stewards that their moves were unnecessary and clumsy.

"Maybe not very smart behaviour what he was trying to do there," said Verstappen, the four-time world champion. "At the end of the day it is not going to change my weekend, but if I were him I would act a little smarter."

Lawson missed the first practice session to allow Red Bull junior driver Nikola Tsolov a turn in the car. Lawson returned in the afternoon session to finish ninth fastest overall.

Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane criticized the clash between the two drivers. "One word - unnecessary," said Permane.

Mercedes reported that Antonelli sat out media duties on Thursday due to a viral illness as a precaution. The team stated that the driver rested ahead of the weekend activities.

Teams will return to the track for final practice sessions and qualifying before Sunday's grand prix.