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Vasseur tempered Ferrari expectations after Leclerc's Mexico practice double

Conceptual AI-generated editorial motorsport illustration; not a documentary photograph or evidence that a pictured event, meeting or transfer occurred. · 2026-11-02GPBeat newsroom · News Made Clear generated illustration

Leclerc topped both Friday sessions, but Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said the altitude and bumpy circuit made conditions unusually challenging.

From the GPBeat newsroomPublished · · 1 min

Charles Leclerc topped both Friday practice sessions in Mexico, but Fred Vasseur cautioned against reading too much into Ferrari's pace. The team principal said the altitude made conditions more extreme than expected, called the bumps before Turn 1 almost dangerous and said Ferrari still had work to do that evening.

Leclerc set 1m18.128s in FP1, then lowered his benchmark to 1m17.827s in FP2. Lewis Hamilton was also competitive: he was fourth in opening practice, 0.738s behind Leclerc, and ran inside the top five in FP2 until his engine failed midway through the session.

Vasseur's comments came with Austin in mind. A week earlier, Ferrari had topped every practice session there but qualified fourth and fifth before finishing second and fourth. Leclerc said track evolution had hurt Ferrari, while Hamilton attributed his Q3 problems to his tyres.

Vasseur also expected every team to improve as it fine-tuned its package for the altitude; he said Ferrari still had a long way to go.

Sources 01
  1. SOURCEFerrari downplays expectations for F1 Mexico GP despite blistering FridayMotorsport.com F1