Hamilton's Friday in Mexico City ended in the garage after a power issue forced him to stop his SF-26 midway through FP2, leaving Ferrari scrambling to diagnose the problem before qualifying. The seven-time champion climbed to fourth in FP1 but managed only P11 in the second session after the stoppage cut his program short. He never got to long runs — a problem at a track where overtaking is nearly impossible.
Ferrari sacrificed Hamilton's FP1 time to run aero rake testing rather than handing the session to a rookie, as most teams did. That decision now looks costly. He's had roughly one clean session to prep for a weekend where the margins are razor-thin: teammate Charles Leclerc topped FP2 by just 0.103 seconds.
Hamilton says the car felt quick before the issue struck, even with power already fading. Team Principal Fred Vasseur promised a fix decision overnight. If the problem lingers into Saturday, Hamilton faces qualifying in the dark.
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