Max Verstappen accused Liam Lawson of "unwise behaviour" after the two collided on Friday during practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix. Verstappen said Lawson tried to "push him off the track into the run-off" during the second session.
The collision occurred in the stadium section of the circuit towards the end of the lap, with the two cars making side-on contact after three corners were navigated side by side. "Maybe it is not exactly wise behaviour to try and do what he was trying to do," said Verstappen. "At the end of the day, it will not change my weekend, but if I were him, I would have behaved a little more wisely - and when you are fighting for your seat, it is not exactly wise behaviour."
Lawson is one of three drivers competing for two seats in the Racing Bulls, Red Bull's junior team, next year, alongside current team-mate Arvid Lindblad and Bulgarian Formula 2 leader Nikola Tsolov. Verstappen holds an influential position within the Red Bull organisation as their star. "When he saw me coming, he suddenly started to accelerate. I do not know what was in his head, to push me off the track into the run-off," added Verstappen. "It is not exactly sensible behaviour from someone in his position to clash with me."
Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane commented: "One word - unnecessary. And I say that for both of them." He added: "I did not hear what Max said. I am sure he has his opinion and I am sure Liam has his. But mine is that it is simply not necessary and that both can do better."
Lawson was Verstappen's team-mate for two races at the start of 2025 before being returned to the junior Racing Bulls team following disappointing performances. Lawson also had a second stint alongside Verstappen for three races this year as a replacement for regular driver Isack Hadjar after the Frenchman broke his wrist. The pair were called before the stewards after the incident, but no significant penalty is expected for either as it was only practice, when drivers are rarely penalised for such incidents.
In the times, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fastest ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris. Leclerc, who was fastest in both sessions on Friday, was 0.103 seconds quicker than Norris, while Russell was just 0.003 seconds further back. Antonelli was 0.217 seconds behind and ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar. Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli was the fourth fastest behind team-mate George Russell.
Antonelli's expected coronation is the main event of the weekend - only a win for Russell or Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton can theoretically prevent Antonelli from becoming champion on Sunday. Antonelli needs ninth place if Russell wins and tenth if Hamilton wins. Leclerc's team-mate Lewis Hamilton was 11th overall after stopping on track due to a technical problem before completing simulation laps on soft tyres. "I felt very good in the car. Simply, my luck," said Hamilton. "We did a very good job to bring the settings to a better state. It is just very unlucky. I think we are very competitive as a team this weekend, and then we did not do the long run so I have no idea. It is very hard to overtake here."
Russell stated: "Ferrari currently looks strongest, Leclerc did not really complete his lap. Lewis has a problem. We expected on a track like this that they would be the best, but Q3 as things stand could go in any direction." Behind Hadjar, Racing Bulls duo Arvid Lindblad and Lawson placed themselves around Alpine's Pierre Gasly, while McLaren's Oscar Piastri rounded out the top 10.
In race simulation runs later in the session, Leclerc again appeared fastest, but the four best teams were very close to each other and it seemed there was a small difference between soft and medium tyres. The runs suggested that a one-stop strategy is the most likely in Sunday, and overtaking will be hampered by the challenge of maintaining proximity to another car when overheating is such a problem in the thin air at 2,200 metres above sea level in Mexico City.
The first session was marked by 10 of 11 teams putting 'rookie' drivers in their cars. One of them was Cadillac's Colton Herta, whom the team is considering promoting to a race seat next season in place of Valtteri Bottas. Initially, the team believed his driving in Mexico gave him enough points under the Formula 1 system to acquire a 'superlicence', which is required for racing in F1. Further investigation by the governing body FIA revealed that the American nine-time IndyCar race winner was still one point short and will need to complete another practice session this year to secure the licence. The team plans to do this before the end of the season at one of the upcoming races.
