Lewis Hamilton’s Mexican Grand Prix Friday was abruptly cut short as a Ferrari engine failure forced him to retire just 30 minutes into the FP2 session.

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The seven-time world champion was on a promising soft-tyre lap when his power unit gave out at Turn 13, robbing him of a potential top time and leaving his car stranded in the runoff area.

Hamilton’s radio message

Hamilton’s team radio captured his frustration: “Something’s wrong with the power, I lost it completely from Turn 13.” The sudden loss of power denied the British driver a chance to challenge Lando Norris’s benchmark time in the session’s closing moments.

Leclerc sets the pace for Ferrari

While Hamilton struggled with this technical setback, Ferrari’s other driver, Charles Leclerc, delivered a strong response. Leclerc dominated the morning FP1 session by a significant margin of six-tenths of a second over the field and continued to lead FP2 with 20 minutes remaining.

This signals encouraging pace for the Scuderia despite their teammate’s misfortune.

Reliability questions before qualifying

The engine issue is a significant blow to Hamilton’s preparation ahead of the Mexican GP, disrupting his rhythm and limiting valuable running time on the challenging Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit. Meanwhile, Leclerc’s pace underscores Ferrari’s competitiveness heading into qualifying and race day.

Hamilton’s power unit failure raises questions about the reliability of Ferrari’s machinery this weekend, highlighting an urgent area for the team to address before the decisive sessions. As the championship battle intensifies, every lap counts, and this technical glitch could prove costly for the Mercedes driver.

The spotlight now turns to Ferrari’s ability to resolve the issue swiftly while capitalizing on Leclerc’s strong form as they strive to maintain momentum in Mexico.