Lewis Hamilton left ‘praying everything’s ok’ after an unfortunate early ending to his FP2 session at the F1 Mexico City GP.
Despite the Ferrari looking to be quick this weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Lewis Hamilton has been having quite a difficult run. After his SF26 lost power and stopped on track during the second Free Practice session of the Mexico City GP, Hamilton lost crucial running time.
Hamilton was unable to continue the FP2 session after the technical failure, and is now left to hope that FP3 goes smoothly.
“I was feeling really good in the car. I think we did a really good job in getting the set-up in a better place. Just really unfortunate,” Hamilton said after the session concluded.
“I think we are really competitive this weekend as a team and then didn’t get to do the long runs so I have no idea how… I know how hard it is to overtake here.
“They are still investigating to find out what’s wrong and I’m just praying everything’s ok.”
While many drivers opted to let a rookie take their spot in the FP1 session this weekend, Hamilton chose to stay in his seat to figure out the Ferrari. However, the preparations did not come without hurdles, as he tested different setups and experimented with the SF26 to find the right fit.
“I missed a little bit of time in P1 because we did the rake running. Normally I would have one of the young drivers do P1 at this track, like most people did. But I opted to do it somewhere else.
“So basically I’ve only had really one session because I missed pretty much at least half of that session.
“I don’t think I need to make many changes to the set-up. It’ll probably be much the same because we were very quick. I already had a loss of power earlier on in the lap and was still quick. I’ll give it everything tomorrow and just try to do the best with whatever I have.”
Hamilton disagrees with Ferrari being the favourites in Mexico
Earlier this weekend, Mercedes’ George Russell stated that the smaller turbo on the Ferrari could give the Italian outfit “quite an advantage” at the Mexico City GP. However, similarly to teammate Charles Leclerc, Hamilton rejected this notion.
“I don’t really agree on the turbo thing,” the seven-time World Champion said. “If you look at the speeds to the Mercedes and the Red Bull, they’re still quick at the end of the straights, like they are every race. So the turbo is just not making a difference.
“It’s still pulling more at the end of straights. So I think we’re still losing a good two or three tenths, but the car is behaving very well.”
The Scuderia team looks quick this weekend, as Leclerc topped both FP1 and FP2. If FP3 proves better for Hamilton, they can expect a solid qualifying session later today.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton stops with power failure as Charles Leclerc tops chaotic F1 Mexico City GP FP2
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