Max Verstappen’s engine failure continued to hamper the race for the world championship leader at the Mexico City Grand Prix as practice two was disrupted by George Russell’s major crash.
In a session that was extended from the usual hour to 90 minutes to allow testing of the following year’s tire compounds, Verstappen led only four laps and failed to set a time.
The Red Bull driver had earlier halted his practice one due to an engine problem, which team principal Christian Horner described as “menial”, before promptly returning for the second session of the day.
Russell had shown impressive pace by topping the opening session for Mercedes, but lasted only 12 minutes of practice two as he lost control at Turn 8 and crashed into the barrier at high speed.
The Briton was released from the medical center at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, despite anxiously making his way from his W15 to the medical car after the incident.
“I don’t really know what happened,” Russell said. “The car started bouncing on the ground and before I had a chance to catch it, it was already spinning.
“There’s a lot of work for people again tonight, it seems like one thing after another is happening at the moment.”
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Sky F1’s Martin Brundle was trackside to see the damage caused to George Russell’s Mercedes after a major crash during P2 in Mexico.
Carlos Sainz topped the session for Ferrari, but timesheets were difficult to predict as the tire compound run by each driver was not made public.
Oscar Piastri was second for McLaren, while his teammate and Verstappen’s closest title contender, Lando Norris, was fifth.
Norris was one of a group of five drivers, including Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who did not run in the first session as their teams fulfilled their obligation to run young drivers in two practices during the season.
The British pair, along with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu, were allowed to run the standard 2024 medium compound tires during the closing stages of Practice Two.
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Highlights from Friday’s practice session at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Norris moved from ninth to fourth with an improvement of nearly half a second on the medium tyres, while Alonso, who was driving in a record 400th race weekend, moved from 15th to ninth in the final moments.
Verstappen leads Norris by 57 points at the top of the Drivers’ Championship with five rounds remaining in the 2024 season.
The Red Bull driver said he was confident his engine would not need to be changed, which could result in a grid penalty if necessary.
Asked about the possibility of a power unit change, Verstappen said: “No, we’ll be fine.”
“On the engine side, we’re checking. I don’t know what it is. On my side, a wasted day. I made four or five revolutions. Not much to read at the moment.”
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Max Verstappen was left disappointed with the performance of his Red Bull after coming to the pitlane during both P1 and P2 in Mexico.
Friday’s track action was accompanied by a big side show, including McLaren’s bid to overturn the penalty given to Norris for overtaking Verstappen during last weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
The first hearing, which required McLaren to provide “significant and relevant” new evidence that was unavailable at the time of the decision, took place at 9.30pm UK time in the middle of the Friday session, but no announcement was made by the FIA at the time of practice. It ended after two-three hours.
Williams’ Alex Albon failed to make it on track during second practice after suffering a major crash during the first session, requiring extensive repairs to his car before it was ready to return to action.
The stewards decided that no action was necessary in relation to Albon’s collision before the accident with British teenager Ollie Bearman, who was representing Ferrari as a young driver.
Sky Sports F1 live Mexico City GP schedule
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Watch some of the most dramatic moments from the Mexico City Grand Prix
Saturday 26th October
6.15pm: Mexico City GP Practice Three (session starts at 6.30pm)
9pm: Mexico City GP qualifying build-up*
10pm: Mexico City GP Qualifying*
Sunday 27th October
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Mexico City GP build-up*
8 pm: Mexico City Grand Prix*
10pm: Checkered flag: Mexico City GP reaction
*Also live on Sky Sports Main Event (race build-up from 7.30pm on Sunday)
Formula 1’s Americas triple header continues this weekend with the Mexico City Grand Prix, with every session live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month subscription – no contract, cancel anytime
