Hamilton 'Praying' Ferrari Power Unit Issue Is Minor After Truncated Mexico Practice

Lewis Hamilton's second practice session in Mexico City ended after just 13 laps when Ferrari instructed him to stop the car with a power unit concern, leaving the seven-time champion uncertain about the rest of his weekend. He admitted the call caught him by surprise — he had felt nothing unusual from the cockpit.

Why it matters:

Hamilton's Ferrari tenure has been punctuated by flashes of genuine pace undone by mechanical setbacks, and a repeat in Mexico would sting at a circuit where track position decides everything. Overtaking around the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is punishing, so a compromised qualifying would likely leave him stuck in traffic on Sunday.

The details:

• Hamilton logged 24 laps in FP1, but a sizeable chunk of that session went on Ferrari's rake and aero test programme rather than pure setup work.
• Charles Leclerc topped both sessions, underlining the SF-26's raw speed around the high-altitude layout.
• Hamilton felt the car was already in a good window, saying the team had "done a really good job" getting the setup into a better place.
• Maranello engineers were still investigating the cause of the stoppage, with no immediate verdict on whether the power unit can be salvaged.
• Altitude factor: Mexico's thin air puts added strain on cooling and turbo systems, a known sensitivity for Ferrari's 2026 package.

What's next:

Hamilton enters qualifying with roughly one and a half sessions of meaningful running behind him. His plan is simple: change as little as possible, lean on the baseline that felt quick, and "give it everything tomorrow."

If the power unit is cleared, his pace suggests he can still fight near the front. If not, a grid penalty — or worse — could turn a promising weekend into damage limitation.