Red Bull confirms power-unit problem cost Hadjar track time in Mexico

Isack Hadjar lost track time in Friday’s first practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix because of a power-unit problem, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said. The team managed to send him back out on track.

Hadjar eventually set the 11th-fastest time. Ayumu Iwasa, standing in for Max Verstappen, was fifth. The session’s times were not fully representative, in part because many rookies were taking part.

Mexico City’s circuit sits more than 2,000 metres above sea level, but Mekies said the altitude had nothing to do with Hadjar’s problem. He said teams had to adapt their power units to the elevation and make compromises on cooling.