Except for those who made way for rookies, F1 stars have already accrued two valuable practice sessions in Mexico. This is because drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris are preparing for what many anticipate to be a fiercely contested qualifying session on Saturday evening (BST).
Verstappen led Alex Albon by a tenth in the first practice session and Lando Norris by the same margin in the second, so it was hardly surprising that he topped the charts in both sessions.
Daniel Ricciardo is another driver to watch as the weekend gets closer. With top-eight lap times in both of Friday’s sessions, the AlphaTauri star is hoping to prove why the team chose to stick with him in 2024 rather than go with rising talent Liam Lawson.
Wolff makes bold disqualification claim
Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes, says he doesn’t regret Lewis Hamilton’s risky setup from the United States Grand Prix last week.
The British driver was eventually disqualified for excessive plank wear due to low ride height; he finished just two seconds behind Max Verstappen.
Wolff said to Sky Sports, “I would rather take the disqualification running for a race win and seeing the performance than ending P3 and 25 seconds adrift.” “I would accept the disqualification every day of the week.”
Lewis Hamilton left speechless
Disappointed with Mercedes’ performance in Friday practice, Lewis Hamilton said he “did not know what to say.”
The seven-time world champion raised doubts about his ability to compete with Max Verstappen by claiming that his car felt much worse last weekend in Austin than it did.
“I don’t really know what to say,” he told Sky Sports. “The car is night and day different compared to last week.
“You just never know what you’re going to get with this one. Some days she’s great and some days she’s not.
“It definitely wasn’t a fun day compared to P1 in Austin. We were a bit off but hopefully overnight we can find something and tomorrow maybe the car will be nicer to drive.”
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