Max Verstappen rued “useless” Friday practice at Formula 1’s Mexico Grand Prix, following a series of power unit issues that hampered his running throughout the day.

Verstappen reported there was “something wrong” with his engine at the end of FP1, which caused him to miss the final five minutes of running in the opening hour-long session.

This persisted throughout FP2, which was dedicated to testing Pirelli’s prototype tyre compounds for 2025, as Verstappen reported there was a “weird noise” emanating from his power unit – which he later described as “very disturbing” over the radio.

This prompted the team to bring his car back to the garage, and he did not return for the rest of the session after just four laps of running.

Regardless, Verstappen reckoned that he wouldn’t need to serve a grid penalty in Mexico to change any power unit components, simply chalking it up as a “day to forget”.

“From the engine side we are checking, I don’t know exactly what it is,” Verstappen said after the session. “But yeah, from my side [it was] a pretty much useless day. I did like four or five laps, and that’s not much to read into.

“It’ll be alright [without a penalty]. I never really had a good run. I did four or five laps in total and that’s even with some long run laps in it. So a day to forget.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Advertisement

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko told Austrian broadcaster ORF that this was a recurring problem, which the team believed had previously been fixed.

He agreed with Verstappen that it was not likely to require any new power unit components that carried a penalty, and that the nature of FP2 lessened the blow to his run plan.

“It’s the same problem, and we’re in the process of finding out why it’s come back, even though it’s been fixed. It’s not a serious problem, it just needs to be solved. There is a leak somewhere,” Marko said.

“[We only did] two timed laps with Max [in FP1], and even those two timed laps weren’t at full power. So it’s going to be difficult, so thankfully this second practice session was on control tyres and we weren’t allowed to change anything, so the damage is limited.”

Verstappen was classified 19th without a time to his name in FP2, while Alex Albon did not run at all during the 90-minute session as Williams was still fixing the extensive damage to his car after an FP1 clash with Ferrari reserve Oliver Bearman.

George Russell endured a hefty crash in Formula 1’s second practice session at the Mexican Grand Prix to introduce a lengthy red flag.

The Briton took too much kerb at Turn 9 and it visibly upset his Mercedes’ handling as the rear of the car began to bounce, pitching Russell into the Tecpro barrier sideways.

Russell was able to get out of the car unaided – though clutching his midriff – and the nature of the impact necessitated the appearance of the medical car, which took him to the circuit’s medical centre for checks.

Mercedes has since announced that the English driver has been released from the medical centre and made his way back to the hospitality, clarifying: “He’s physically okay but it was a significant impact.”

This led to a 24-minute break in proceedings to repair the Tecpro barriers damaged in the Russell impact on the exit of Turn 9, before the session was able to get going again. 

Russell’s Mercedes sustained heavy damage to the right-hand side of the car, particularly to the sidepod and rear wing, and thus will require lengthy repairs overnight.

It was the second heavy impact sustained by Russell in consecutive weeks after he spun out at Turn 19 in qualifying for the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.

FP2 had been extended to 90 minutes for the purposes of a Pirelli tyre test; the control tyre supplier set out the run plans for all teams – with 30 minutes of free running granted to the drivers who missed FP1 after giving up their seats to young drivers.

The additional Pirelli tyres supplied are all unmarked; each driver was given an additional two sets of tyres, one of a 2024 compound used during the weekend, and another of a 2025 construction to provide back-to-back data without visually revealing the softness of the compounds themselves. One of these includes a C6 compound at an even softer grade.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has confirmed that Yuki Tsunoda will drive the team’s RB20 in Formula 1’s end-of-season Abu Dhabi test.

RB driver Tsunoda has only had experience of Red Bull machinery in demo runs, although tried the Red Bull RB18 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in an open-face helmet and goggles.

Honda has been keen for Tsunoda to test a Red Bull in a more representative environment, and the president of its racing division HRC Koji Watanabe told Motorsport.com earlier this month that the manufacturer had “strongly requested that Tsunoda be given the chance to drive and test in a Red Bull car.”

Horner said that the run in a Red Bull had been agreed “for some time” and that he was looking forward to seeing how Tsunoda would get on in a title-contending car.

“Yuki is a member of the junior team, and it’s something that we have discussed with Honda,” Horner explained.

“He will test the car at the tyre test following the conclusion of the season, and it’s something that has been agreed for quite some time.

“It will again be good to give him a run, and get the opportunity to work with Red Bull Racing engineers and see how he performs in a Red Bull Racing car.”

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Advertisement

This comes as Tsunoda has appeared to have been overlooked by Red Bull in recent months; his team-mate Liam Lawson has already tried the RB20 in a tyre test earlier this year, as the Kiwi has been linked to Red Bull as a potential replacement for the under-fire Sergio Perez.

Asked if the team was looking to make a final call on drivers at the end of the season, potentially with Lawson stepping up to the lead Red Bull team in place of Perez, Horner asserted that Perez was still contracted for next season.

He added that he would work with RB’s management to ensure that both teams had the best line-ups available.

“As I mentioned earlier, Checo has a contract for next year, so he’s currently our driver for 2025,” Horner said.

“Obviously there is a seat available at VCARB, but they’re all Red Bull Racing drivers that are on loan.

“We have the benefit of time to sit down with Laurent [Mekies, RB team principal] and Peter [Bayer, RB CEO] and look at all the options.”

Becoming Homestead-Miami Speedway Track President in July of this year, Guillermo Santa Cruz will oversee his first NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck weekend when Homestead hosts the midpoint of the Round of 8. But many — Santa Cruz included — would love to see the track return to its old position as NASCAR’s season finale.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com, Santa Cruz expressed respect for NASCAR’s scheduling decisions, but still spoke on a desire to return the track to its former role.

“We would love to have the championship back,” Santa Cruz told Motorsport.com. “We make no bones about it. I’m very open about it and it takes a lot to bring a championship to any city. The fact that it was here for 18 years was obviously a plus because we have that tradition. We have the incredible weather that we typically have this time of year. We have the Florida Keys [a] 20 minute drive away. There’s a lot to offer here — not only for the drivers, but for the spectators and everybody who loves motorsports.

“Ideally in a perfect world, one day the championship will come back. And I’ll tell you, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t working on that and wasn’t trying to make that happen. Yes, we want the championship to come back. That’s not a secret,” says Santa Cruz.

The last champion to be crowned at Homestead-Miami Speedway: Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry in 2019

Photo by: Rusty Jarrett / NKP / Motorsport Images

Guillermo is new to the NASCAR world, but he brings with him an impressive resume in the sports media world. He’s worked in sports media for more than three years and has produced two FIFA World Cups on Univision, as well as the Olympics after moving to Telemundo. The bulk of his career was spent at IMG — a global sports and culture company company — spending 11 years there, where he even did some consulting for NASCAR. Motorsport.com was curious to learn why he chose to make this career change less than four months ago.

“I think one of the principle reasons why I took it is because I believe Homestead is really the future of south Florida,” explained Santa Cruz, a Miami native. “There’s so much happening here. There’s so much going on. The time was right to make a change. I’ve had a long career in sports and this was a new challenge. The direction NASCAR is going was another appealing factor about it.

“More than anything: One, the challenge and two, I knew it would be fun. And fun it has been.”

While he admits he is still learning the ropes of the stock car racing world, he is well aware of the fact that this is a track beloved by drivers and fans. It’s often celebrated as one of the best for passing on the entire schedule, and that’s a huge argument for why people want to see it take its place back as the finale, which has been held at Phoenix Raceway since 2020.

“From a marketing and product perspective, that took care of a lot of questions,” said Santa Cruz when asked about the track’s popularity. “The drivers like it and that means the product is good, the racing is good, so we don’t have to worry about that,” said Santa Cruz. “And to be fair to NASCAR and to me, that wouldn’t be my expertise. I wouldn’t know how to fix the track if that was an issue — if the competition wasn’t good. But the competition is good. The drivers love it. So in that regard, we’re great.”

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro, Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Racing, Freeway.com Chevrolet Camaro

Photo by: Jared East / NKP / Motorsport Images

Despite losing its place as the finale, Homestead still plays a pivotal role in deciding the 2024 champion. As one of three races in the Round of 8, a win at the 1.5-mile speedway means an automatic entry for any of the eight remaining title combatants. 

“Homestead is wonderful test of skill and ability and strategy,” he said of its current role in the playoffs. “It has done that throughout its history and we can expect that here on Sunday. Only three spots are left so if you’re gonna make it move, you gotta make it now.”

Another schedule move

Unfortunately, the Homestead date will move yet again in 2025. The track will be out of the playoffs completely, moved to an early season date similar to its placement as the third round of 2021.

When asked about discussions regarding the race’s future and the possibility of moving it back into the playoffs in any way for 2026 or beyond, Santa Cruz provided a diplomatic answer. 

“Were excited to have a race any time and we’re ready to go a moment’s notice,” he told Motorsport.com. “We take a lot of pride in that here. This track is always ready to go.”

He went on the praise the spring date while also looking towards the future, saying: “March is a great date … we welcome that and we’re happy to race in March. As far as the future after that, whether it’s another playoff race or something else, we’re open to that.

“There’s a lot of decision-making that goes into those things. The weather has a lot to do with it, not only here, but in other parts of the country so it’s a little bit of a chess move with how you do the schedule. We’ll be ready to go whenever they [NASCAR] want us to race. We’re good, but yes, we would love to have the championship back.”

George Russell went quickest in a twice red-flagged opening practice session at the Mexican Grand Prix, as Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman collided at Turn 9.

Russell set a 1m17.998s on the soft-tyre runs to go three tenths faster than Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in a stop-start session, with the first interruption coming five minutes in to clear a sliver of debris sat ahead of Turn 1.

Both Albon and Bearman were involved in the second; the Williams driver was on a push lap and caught a slowing Bearman at Turn 9 and lifted off, which caused his car to snap – he clipped the Ferrari reserve driver and went straight on into the wall.

The second red flag produced a 14-minute delay, and practice resumed with 24 minutes left on the clock.

Sainz had led the way after the opening runs on the hard tyre ahead of the second pause and then continued to headline the session on the soft tyre as he set a 1m18.573s lap to kick off the first performance runs of the weekend.

Russell found almost six tenths over the Spaniard to go faster, breaking into the 1m17s in the process, although Sainz got closer with a follow-up 1m18.315s time to close the gap.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda was third fastest in a jumbled order, 0.7 seconds off the pace, while Max Verstappen was a further tenth-and-a-half behind.

The Dutchman reported over the radio that he was suffering with a power unit issue, and slowly made his way back to the pits with over five minutes remaining and took no further part in the session.

Nico Hulkenberg was fifth fastest over Oscar Piastri, who contended that his McLaren felt ‘pretty terrible’ during his soft-tyre runs and subsequently put together a longer hard-tyre stint to gather further data.

Esteban Ocon was seventh, albeit a second off the pace, ahead of the closely-matched Valtteri Bottas, Liam Lawson, and Sergio Perez.

Future Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli enjoyed a longer FP1 session versus his Monza outing, taking Lewis Hamilton’s car to 12th in the order – a tenth behind Franco Colapinto.

Pato O’Ward drove Lando Norris’ car in his home FP1 session and was 13th fastest, while fellow stand-ins Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin), Robert Shwartzman (Sauber) and Bearman (Ferrari) propped up the order.

Continue reading with advertising …

… or with a subscription

Visit motorsport.com as usual with advertising and tracking. You can revoke your consent at any time via the data protection page.¹

Use motorsport.com without any advertising banners, personalized tracking and commercials for a small fee.

Accept and continue

More information about advertising and tracking in our Data protection notice, the List of our partners and in Data protection information center.

Already a subscriber?

Log in here