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Formula 1 Mexico City GP

F1 Mexican GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2

Updates from Friday practice at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

A pumpkin sits inside the Haas VF-22

The F1 action continues with the Mexican GP, as the season begins to draw to a close after both F1 world titles were wrapped up by Max Verstappen and Red Bull.

But focus has shifted to off-track events, as Red Bull’s F1 cost cap breach for 2021 was announced ahead of practice at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with the Milton Keynes-based squad given a $7 million fine and a 10% reduction on aerodynamic testing by the FIA.

Aston Martin were also give a $450,000 fine for its F1 cost cap procedural breach from last year.

Carlos Sainz led team-mate Charles Leclerc for a Ferrari 1-2 in FP1, with the Red Bull pair of Sergio Perez and Verstappen behind them in third and fourth.

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Red flag
Uh oh! Leclerc has crashed and it has triggered a red flag!
Crash
Leclerc has gone into the wall backwards, spinning off at Turn 7, and badly damaged the rear of the car.
So that's put a pause on this session as Leclerc's battered Ferrari is recovered and the crash barrier is repaired. Good thing FP2 has been extended to 90-minutes long.
Leclerc appears to be OK as he's out of the car, but his pride will be dented after that.
Now we're talking, a wave is going through the crowds in the stands from one end to the other. If only there was a name for that.
Leclerc's stricken Ferrari has been cleared and the marshals are now tidying up the tecpro barriers at a speedy pace. A restart probably won't be too far away.
Leclerc is back in the Ferrari garage passing out apologetic fist bumps to his mechanics, who are waiting for his car to arrive ahead of a lengthy repair job.
Breaking news
In other news, Haas has needed to change Magnussen's engine after the car's FP1 chonk out, which means he'll have a five-place grid penalty for this weekend.
Leclerc's battered Ferrari is eased off the low-loader and returned to the garage. The back-left corner is facing the wrong way, so that'll be a lot of repair work needed.
Green flag
And just like that FP2 will get back underway again in one minute's time.
Go, go, go! 38 minutes of FP2 left to run.
All the drivers are on the test tyres now, with a little over half an hour to go. We're in for an good, old fashioned tyre test now.
There are still plenty of drivers slipping and sliding on these tyres, the latest being Verstappen at Turn 1, potentially struggling for optimum temperature on the test rubber.
Quote
"Is there any forecast of rain? It is looking ominous in some places," Latifi says over team radio. It definitely is pretty dark out on track.

What's happening on track? Laps. And lots of them. And lots of drivers sliding around.

 

The timesheet looks set, with Russell's 1m19.970s on the softs set to give him top spot.

Do you remember when Pirelli used to call their softest tyres the hypersoft?
The tyre rainbow was the best part of that Pirelli tyre era but the names were odd. Did the superhard even get used? Or was it a mythical tyre that made us giggle?
19 of the 20 drivers are on the track completing laps on the unmarked test tyres, with lap times around 2-4 seconds slower than the best lap times from earlier.
Meanwhile in the grandstands there are fans showing off hats with model cars and rear wings attached that could rival what the Japanese fans create.
Quote
"The engine sounds strange on partial throttle. Let me know if it is OK?" Ocon asks on team radio. He's told all is well, having switched to an older engine between the practice sessions after an issue with his first one when Doohan was in the car.
Gasly leads the lap tally count with 36 trips around the Mexican circuit so far in FP2. There are five minutes to go in this session.
Red flag
It looks like there will be another early end to a practice session today. Zhou has come to a stop in the stadium section which has triggered a late red flag.
Mechanical problem
Zhou reported a hydraulic failure with his Alfa Romeo as he is told to stop the car. This session will not be resumed with one minute left on the clock.
Checkered flag
So, that's your lot! Russell is fastest in FP2 having run on the 2022 soft tyres, ahead of Tsunoda and Ocon who were also on the softs. Hamilton topped the outright lap time set on the 2023 test tyres.
But it was a frustrating session for Leclerc after his early crash which has badly beaten up his Ferrari.
Breaking news
Here's the full report on FP2 at the Mexican GP: 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-mexican-gp-russell-leads-fp2-as-leclerc-crashes-in-pirelli-test-running/10391916/
Checkered flag
So with that, we'll call time on this live coverage of Friday practice at the Mexican GP. But the fun returns tomorrow, with final practice starting at 6pm BST ahead of qualifying at 9pm BST. Until then, go well!

By: autosport.com

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