Ferrari finish on top, Mercedes stutter in FP2 - Friday in Mexico recap
F1 News
The Formula 1 action returned on Friday with the opening two sessions of the Mexican Grand Prix weekend. Lewis Hamilton set the standard in FP1 whilst Sebastian Vettel was the class of the field in FP2.
A good start to the weekend for Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton can be crowned Formula 1 World Champion for a sixth time this weekend if he outscores his teammate Valtteri Bottas by 14 points. And his weekend got off to a perfect start as he topped the timesheets in FP1, narrowly beating out Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
Nicholas Latifi manned the Williams of Robert Kubica for the session but finished a whole second behind George Russell. The Canadian is expected to partner the Brit next season.
Lance Stroll brought out the red flag after colliding with the barriers but he was able to get back out before the end of the session for more laps.
Vettel sets the standard in FP2
The tables turned in FP2 as Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheets, beating Max Verstappen and his teammate Charles Leclerc to top spot. Mercedes struggled to keep the pace with the Scuderia as they finished over half a second behind the pacesetter.
Alex Albon's session came to a premature end as he smashed into the barriers at turn seven. It brought out the red flag causing a lengthy delay and unlike Stroll, was unable to set any more laps.
It was a positive session for Toro Rosso as they finished the session in sixth and seventh. Pierre Gasly was as high as second at one point before finishing behind his teammate Daniil Kvyat.
Renault have been using their illegal braking system for years
After they were disqualified from the Japanese Grand Prix, Renault boss, Cyril Abiteboul has revealed they have been using their braking system for years before they were pulled up for it. Daniel Ricciardo (P6) and Nico Hulkenberg (P10) were both disqualified after Racing Point raised issue with Renault's braking system.
Abiteboul said: "It's been used for so many years that we never thought it could be put into question until what happened recently."
Hamilton won't be speaking to Pete Bonnington this weekend
For years we've got used to Lewis Hamilton speaking to Bonno over the radio but for the next few races at least it'll be a different voice telling Lewis how his tyres are doing. The British engineer can't attend the races due to a personal medical procedure according to reports from Motorsport.com.
Marcus Dudley, the regular performance engineer at Hamilton, will take on the task, big boots to fill!