Competitive order ‘can go any way’ in Mexico City – Russell

George Russell believes qualifying at the Mexico City Grand Prix could go any way following a tightly contested Friday practice. The Mercedes driver sat out the opening practice session for reserve driver Fred Vesti before recovering to finish third in FP2 with a time of 1m 17.933s, just behind McLaren's Lando Norris and session leader Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.

Russell highlighted the unique challenges posed by the high altitude in Mexico, noting issues with low grip and turbo lag while pointing to Ferrari as the early benchmark. Mercedes Deputy Team Principal Bradley Lord echoed these sentiments regarding the demanding conditions, confirming that the team has the potential to fight for pole position if they optimize their setup.