WHAT THE TEAMS SAID – FRIDAY IN MEXICO CITY

Leclerc swept Friday practice in Mexico City, topping both sessions despite a Turn 1 excursion that forced him to abort his first flying lap on softs in FP2. Ferrari looked dialed in on both compounds, but the day turned sour for incoming teammate Lewis Hamilton, who parked trackside with a power unit failure that cut his afternoon short. Hamilton insisted the car felt quick before the issue hit and doesn't expect major setup changes.

McLaren's Norris sat second in FP2, just a tenth back, though he torched his mediums with a massive lock-up that wiped out long-run data on that compound. Piastri had a scrappier day but saved one big slide that had the grandstands buzzing. Russell slotted third for Mercedes, a tenth up on Antonelli, who shook off an early off-track moment in his FP1 debut to run second in the session.

The top four teams are bunched tight heading into qualifying, where execution will decide the grid.