By Alan Baldwin
MEXICO CITY, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fastest in both practice sessions on Friday for a Mexico City Grand Prix set to crown 20-year-old Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli as Formula One’s youngest champion.
Antonelli missed Thursday’s media day to recover from a viral illness, but the Italian was second on the timesheets in the first session and fourth in the later one at the capital’s high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Antonelli is 123 points clear of teammate George Russell at the top and needs only two more points, a ninth place, to be sure of the title while the Briton has to win on Sunday to stay mathematically in the game with four rounds remaining.
Leclerc, who was also fastest in both Friday sessions in Texas last week before Antonelli won, produced a best effort of one minute 17.827 seconds in the second practice, when the times were much closer, after going top in the first by 0.659 with a lap of 1:18.128.
“Overall, our performance looks quite all right, but we still need to work on some of our limiting factors. It was quite tricky on track today, as the surface was slippery,” said Leclerc.
McLaren’s reigning world champion and last year’s winner, Lando Norris, was second fastest in the later session, 0.103 slower, with Russell third.
Leclerc’s teammate and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, a two-time winner in Mexico, stopped on track and triggered a virtual safety car with half an hour remaining. “I lost all power,” said the Briton.
Red flags were shown and the session halted after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, a five-time winner in Mexico, and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson — a former teammate — made contact with 47 minutes to go, leaving debris from the Dutch driver’s car on the track.
“He literally just drove into me. Every weekend,” said Lawson over the radio.
Verstappen hit back at the New Zealander, whose place has yet to be confirmed for next year.
“At the end of the day, it is not going to change my weekend, but if I were him I would act a little smarter. And when you’re fighting for your seat, it’s not very smart behaviour,” he said.
10 RACE REGULARS MISSING IN FIRST SESSION
The first session started without 10 race regulars as all but Ferrari gave track time to young drivers.
Russell was one of those sitting out the session, with Mercedes reserve Fred Vesti taking his place and lapping third fastest, 0.733 slower than Leclerc, with Hamilton fourth.
Japanese Ayumu Iwasa took Verstappen’s place and was the fastest of the non-race drivers in fifth.
He was followed by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Haas’ Ollie Bearman and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad.
Bulgarian F2 title contender Nikola Tsolov, taking Lawson’s place at Racing Bulls, complained of losing sensation in his leg but was a commendable 12th fastest and behind Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar.
“Running out of blood on my right leg. I cannot feel my right leg. I think the seat is compressing my leg and my blood stopped,” Tsolov said over team radio after returning to the pits.
Team principal Alan Permane called it a “textbook first session” with the F2 driver keeping the car intact and providing good feedback.
British 18-year-old Freddie Slater had a troubled F1 practice debut, with Audi mechanics leaving a cooling fan attached to the side of the car as he went out on track, but he still ended the session off the bottom of the timing screens and with 14 laps completed.
Aston Martin reserve Jak Crawford stopped on track with a suspected power unit issue.
Reigning F2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli took Norris’ seat for the session and was 17th fastest, with a small tyre lock-up sending the car skidding over the grass.
American Colton Herta was slowest, in Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac, but completed 30 laps to gain another point towards his super licence.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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