Charles Leclerc tops practice sessions as Hamilton suffers power failure

Hamilton’s power unit failure

Lewis Hamilton stopped his Ferrari SF-26 at the exit of Turn 3 during the second practice session for the Mexico Grand Prix. After losing power on the start-finish straight 28 minutes into the session, the 41-year-old driver told his engineer, Carlo Santi, "Something’s wrong with the power. I lost all power from Turn 13." Santi responded that the team saw the issue and told Hamilton he must stop the car on track. Hamilton finished the session in 11th place, 0.685s behind Charles Leclerc, after completing just 13 laps. This total compares poorly to Leclerc, who completed 35 laps. Hamilton also lost time during the first practice session because he ran aerodynamic rake testing on his car instead of utilizing a rookie driver, a move that left him finishing the session in fourth place, 0.738s behind Leclerc. Ferrari was the only team that did not field a young driver during the opening session, but the driver felt the car was good and believed the team could be close to competing for the front row. He noted he already experienced a loss of power earlier in the lap before the complete failure occurred. Hamilton said he is "praying" for the Ferrari power unit and hopes the issue does not lead to an engine penalty. Hamilton’s Friday was a failure.

Leclerc tops both sessions

Charles Leclerc secured a Friday practice double at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez by finishing fastest in both sessions. He produced a time of 1:17.827 on soft tyres. Lando Norris finished second, 0.103s slower, while George Russell took third, 0.106s behind the leader. Kimi Antonelli finished fourth, 0.217s back, and Max Verstappen took fifth.

Leclerc stated the surface felt slippery and the team needs to work overnight to improve performance. This result follows his performance last week at the Circuit of the Americas, where he topped both Friday sessions but finished second in the race behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. Ferrari now leads five consecutive practice sessions, including the sessions in Austin, and Hamilton remarked that the team did a good job getting the setup in a better place before the misfortune. Lando Norris, who finished second, said the car still presents a challenge to drive but noted the foundations remain.

Verstappen and Lawson collision

Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson face a one-grid place penalty after their collision during the second practice session. Verstappen attempted to pass Lawson on the inside of Turn 12, but Lawson defended his position. The two drivers raced side by side through the slow Turn 13 before Verstappen ran over the right edge of the Racing Bulls’ front wing at Turn 14. This contact deposited debris on the circuit in the stadium section, which forced the marshals to trigger a red flag to clear the track. The stewards ruled that both drivers behaved in a manner that the officials considered unacceptable, and Verstappen accused Lawson of speeding up as soon as he saw the move being made. Lawson finished the session in ninth place, two places ahead of his teammate Arvid Lindblad.

In the lower half of the top ten, Oscar Piastri finished 10th, 0.642s behind Leclerc. Fernando Alonso finished 12th, within eight tenths of the leader. Esteban Ocon finished 13th after he voiced his displeasure regarding a mid-session instruction to switch to the medium tyre compound. Gabriel Bortoleto finished 22nd, 2.347s off the pace, after a technical issue limited him to only 12 laps. Kimi Antonelli, who finished fourth, only needs to finish ninth in Sunday’s race to become the youngest-ever Formula 1 world champion.