Russell: Ferrari the team to beat in Mexico as qualifying fight tightens

George Russell has labelled Ferrari the team to beat at the Mexico City Grand Prix after Charles Leclerc topped both of Friday's practice sessions. The Mercedes driver, though, sees a close enough fight at the front that qualifying could hinge on who nails the lap.

Why it matters:

Ferrari arrived in Mexico expected to go well on a circuit that rewards a strong chassis, and the timesheets backed that up. But Friday left the true order unresolved — Hamilton's FP2 ended early with an engine problem, and Russell felt Leclerc never strung together a clean lap either.

The details:

• Leclerc ended both sessions fastest. Russell was third in FP2, roughly a tenth back, after handing his car to Frederik Vesti for FP1 and logging just 60 minutes of running all day.
• Hamilton pulled over in FP2 with a power unit issue, costing Ferrari a chunk of its long-run data.
• Russell's read: "It's fair to say Ferrari is looking strongest at the moment. Leclerc couldn't properly finish this lap, I don't think; Lewis had the issue."
• On qualifying: "If you have a very good chassis, come Q3, I think it can go any way… So I need to pull the lap out when it matters."
• Altitude factor: Thin air at 2,240m saps turbo performance and downforce. It bites harder this year — with the front and rear wing openings used on straights, teams are running maximum downforce everywhere, so Mexico feels lower on grip than usual.

What's next:

Russell expects a four-team scrap separated by fractions, with no clear hierarchy beyond Ferrari's headline pace. If the order stays that tight, Saturday's qualifying — rather than race pace — may decide who leaves Mexico City with the advantage.