Mercedes ended Friday practice for the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix with encouraging signs of progress, as George Russell finished third and Andrea Kimi Antonelli fourth in FP2, separated by just 0.111 seconds. The Italian recovered from a viral infection and found a more promising balance in the W17 after a difficult opening session, but the team believes further improvements are needed to challenge Ferrari and the other leading contenders for a place on the front row.
The opening day at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez confirmed that Mercedes remains firmly in the leading group, although the extremely close gaps make it difficult to establish a definitive competitive order. George Russell finished just 0.106 seconds behind Charles Leclerc’s fastest lap, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli was 0.217 seconds adrift of the Ferrari driver. Despite those encouraging results, the Brackley-based team still needs to address several handling limitations before qualifying.
Kimi Antonelli recovers from illness and improves Mercedes W17 balance
For Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Friday was primarily a day of steady improvement. After missing his media commitments on Thursday because of a viral infection, the Italian returned to the cockpit as normal and confirmed that he had recovered sufficiently to compete. His return also provided reassurance for Mercedes after the illness had disrupted his preparations for the Mexican weekend.
“First of all, it was nice to get back in the car and feel well again,” Andrea Kimi Antonelli commented after practice. Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord also confirmed the driver’s recovery, describing him as fully fit and back to his usual exuberant self.
However, the Italian’s programme did not begin particularly smoothly. The W17 proved difficult to balance during the opening practice session, forcing Andrea Kimi Antonelli and the Mercedes engineers to reconsider several set-up choices. Despite those difficulties, he still finished FP1 in second place, less than a tenth of a second ahead of Frederik Vesti, who was driving the car normally used by George Russell.
“It was an interesting Friday,” Andrea Kimi Antonelli explained. “Here in Mexico, it’s never easy to understand the behaviour of the car, especially in the first session when the track is still cleaning up. We tried different solutions between the two sessions to bring the balance into a better operating window, and it seems that we managed to improve the situation in FP2.”
The progress was reflected in his fourth-place finish during the second session, just 0.111 seconds behind George Russell and 0.217 seconds slower than Charles Leclerc’s benchmark. Those small margins leave Mercedes within reach of the leading positions, although Andrea Kimi Antonelli acknowledged that additional improvements are necessary before Saturday’s qualifying session.
“There are definitely other areas where we can improve ahead of tomorrow, and we’ll have work to do overnight. Ferrari looked very quick, but we need to focus on ourselves, understand where we can find more performance and try to put ourselves in the best possible position for qualifying.”
George Russell praises Frederik Vesti after strong Mercedes Mexico GP FP2
George Russell’s Friday programme began directly in the second practice session after he handed his W17 to Frederik Vesti for FP1. The Danish driver made excellent use of the opportunity, completing the scheduled programme and recording the third-fastest time overall. He was also the quickest of the young drivers participating in the opening session.
His contribution was appreciated by Mercedes, which collected valuable data without compromising its preparations for the remainder of the weekend. Frederik Vesti’s work allowed George Russell to begin FP2 with useful information despite having missed the opening hour of running.
“Fred did a really good job, allowing us to arrive prepared for my session,” George Russell explained. “I managed to find the rhythm quickly, despite missing FP1. Here in Mexico, the challenge is always unusual because of the altitude and the lack of grip, and this year those characteristics seem even more pronounced.”
The British driver’s third-place finish was another encouraging result for Mercedes, particularly given his limited track time. However, the difficulties created by Mexico City’s conditions remain significant, and the characteristics of the 2026 cars have introduced additional complications compared with previous seasons.
Why Mexico’s altitude makes the 2026 Mercedes W17 difficult to drive
George Russell highlighted how the current generation of Formula 1 cars has changed the technical demands of the Mexican Grand Prix. Unlike in previous years, teams already use high-downforce configurations at most circuits because of how the 2026 cars operate on the straights, meaning the usual increase in aerodynamic load for Mexico is no longer available in the same way.
“This year we’re using high levels of downforce at most circuits because of the way the cars work on the straights. So when we come here, we don’t have the usual increase in downforce that normally characterises this track. That makes the car particularly difficult to drive, not to mention the problem of turbo lag at this altitude.”
The reduced air density at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez also complicates cooling requirements, creating additional challenges for the power unit and braking systems. The combination makes the Mexican circuit one of the most demanding venues on the calendar from a technical management perspective.
These conditions were already expected to create difficulties across the grid. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur had also warned about the cooling and grip challenges facing the teams in Mexico, underlining the importance of finding an effective compromise between aerodynamic performance and temperature management.
Andrew Shovlin identifies Mercedes corner-entry instability and understeer
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin confirmed that the team had not encountered any particularly serious problems with its power unit during Friday’s running. Power delivery appeared satisfactory, and both cars completed useful race simulations, although cooling margins remained an area requiring attention.
“We seem to be in a reasonable position, with good power delivery coming out of the corners. Brake and power unit cooling is always an issue here, but we’ve managed to complete some good race simulations with both cars. We’d like to have a bigger margin, but it seems that all the teams have to manage these aspects.”
The more significant concerns involved the W17’s behaviour through corners. Andrew Shovlin identified a lack of stability during the entry phase, followed by a tendency towards understeer as the car approached the apex. These limitations were evident both during qualifying simulations and over longer runs, potentially making the problem easier to analyse because the symptoms were consistent across different types of running.
“The field is very close, and based on what we’ve seen today, we still have work to do. The problems over a single lap are essentially the same ones we encounter with race pace, and that should make finding a solution a little easier. But it’s clear that we need to take a step forward if we want to fight for the front row.”
Understanding the operating window of the W17 has already been an important theme for Mercedes this season. George Russell previously acknowledged the difficulties associated with finding consistent performance from the car, with Toto Wolff also addressing the performance differences between the two Mercedes drivers following the United States Grand Prix.
Mercedes targets Mexico GP front row as Ferrari leads a closely matched field
Friday’s race simulations also indicated small performance differences between the four leading teams, with programmes completed on both soft and medium tyres. The limited gaps make the overnight engineering work particularly important, especially as Mercedes attempts to identify a set-up compromise that delivers strong single-lap performance without excessively compromising the car’s behaviour over longer distances.
Ferrari appeared particularly competitive throughout Friday, with Charles Leclerc leading the second practice session as the leading teams remained closely matched. However, the narrow gaps suggest Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull could all remain involved in the battle for the leading grid positions.
George Russell believes the competitive order could change significantly once qualifying begins, particularly given how little separates the main contenders. The British driver emphasised that extracting every possible advantage from the W17 will be essential when the teams begin their final attempts in Q3.
“I think anything could happen in Q3 tomorrow. We’ll have to maximise every detail because the margins will be really very small.”
Mercedes therefore has reason to be encouraged by its opening day in Mexico, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli recovering his physical condition and improving the W17’s balance, while George Russell quickly found competitive pace despite missing FP1. Nevertheless, the remaining corner-entry instability and mid-corner understeer leave the team with important work to complete before qualifying, when even a small improvement could make the difference in the fight for the front row.
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