The Latest Breaking News from George Russell

Russell stressed that getting the tyres to work effectively in the face of changing track temperatures was the biggest challenge faced by all drivers, and he conceded that his team “got it wrong.”

Verstappen, George Russell and Fernando Alonso were all summoned to explain their actions in the Mexico City pitlane as the pack massed at the end of Q1. All three escaped sanctions for pitlane impeding around the rules requirement to drive to a maximum laptime (or minimum speed) when not on…

Ahead of the final runs in Q1, Verstappen, Alonso and Russell all backed up other cars while leaving the pitlane in a bid to create a gap and find clear air.

Verstappen ended up third after the Ferrari pair had nipped ahead on the first Q3 runs, then could not beat them even though neither Leclerc or Sainz improved on their second efforts.

Verstappen ended up third after the Ferrari pair had nipped ahead on the first Q3 runs and could not beat them even though neither Leclerc nor Sainz improved on their second efforts.

Leclerc will start ahead of his team-mate Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz set the first somewhat representative times on the board in the opening minutes, with Leclerc's 1m19.283s heading his team-mate by 0.166s.

The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz set the first somewhat representative times on the board in the opening minutes, with Leclerc's 1m19.283s heading his team-mate by 0.166s.

Behind Verstappen, the battle for outright pace looks to be very close in conditions and through corner types that somewhat negate the RB19’s usual strengths. And in the long run exercises at FP2’s end, McLaren, through Lando Norris, seemed particularly strong.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen scored pole position in Mexico last year, leading the Mercedes of George Russell. 

Behind Verstappen, the battle for outright pace looks to be very close in conditions and through corner types that somewhat negate the RB19’s usual strengths. And in the long run exercises at FP2’s end, McLaren, through Lando Norris, seemed particularly strong.