George Russell crashes in Mexico practice as Max Verstappen hit by engine issues

By Scott Hunt, PA, Mexico City

George Russell suffered another high-speed crash as championship leader Max Verstappen complained of engine issues during practice for the Mexico Grand Prix.

Russell, who had earlier topped the standings in first practice, caught the kerb and careered into the barriers at turn nine 12 minutes into the second session.

It comes a week after the Mercedes driver crashed during qualifying in Austin.

The British driver was taken to the medical centre and the 90-minute session – an hour of which was devoted to Pirelli tyre testing for 2025 – was red-flagged for 24 minutes.

Mercedes later confirmed Russell had been released from the medical centre and was OK.

Verstappen complained of an engine problem during Friday’s opening running in Mexico City but Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said between the sessions that the team believed it was a “menial issue”.

The championship leader, who holds a 57-point lead over Lando Norris in the title standings, was soon reporting issues in second practice, however, and was swiftly called back into the pits.

“This noise is very disturbing. This can’t be normal,” Verstappen said over the team radio.

He returned to the track but was called straight back in and was unable to get a timed lap on the board.

If the three-time world champion is forced to take a new power unit between now and the end of the season, he will incur a grid penalty.

But he was confident Red Bull could avoid that this weekend, telling Sky Sports: “We will be alright. From the engine side, we are checking. I don’t know what it is.

“From my side, a useless day. I did four or five laps. Not much to read into at the moment.”

Title hopeful Norris had sat out first practice as Mexican rookie Pato O’Ward drove his McLaren. Russell posted the fastest time ahead of Carlos Sainz, with Verstappen fourth – more than eight tenths off the pace.

Norris was back behind the wheel in second practice and, as the session came to a close, moved his McLaren up to fifth on a set of medium tyres. Sainz topped the charts ahead of Oscar Piastri and Yuki Tsunoda.

Times in the second session were difficult to judge, given the vast majority were set on prototype tyre compounds as part of the Pirelli test.

There was another high-speed crash in Friday’s opening running when Alex Albon collided with British teenager Oliver Bearman.

The Williams driver lost control of his car as Bearman slowed on the outside to allow him to pass by into turn 10, understeering into the front wheel of the Ferrari at high speed before spinning into the barriers.

Albon quickly blamed Bearman for the unusual practice incident, labelling the 19-year-old an “idiot” over the team radio.

Bearman, who has competed in two races this season for Ferrari and Haas, was taken out of the session as Albon was driven away by the medical car – with Williams later confirming their driver was fine.

Williams wrote on X: “Most importantly, both drivers are okay following the FP1 incident earlier today.

“Alex caught Ollie in an unfortunate spot on the track, with limited options due to a slow-moving vehicle in Alex’s sight.”