Formula 1 today: penalties for Verstappen and Lawson, Leclerc on top

According to formula1.com, Charles Leclerc was fastest in both of Friday's practice sessions for the Mexico City GP. In second practice, Lando Norris and George Russell finished just behind him. Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli was fourth.

The session ended early for Lewis Hamilton. He reported a loss of power and had to stop his Ferrari out on track, which brought out a Virtual Safety Car period. According to formula1.com, Esteban Ocon had no power steering on his first laps. Gabriel Bortoleto only went out late because Audi first had to fix a technical problem.

At Turn 12, Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson ran side by side, neither backed off, and the two cars made contact. The debris on track led to a brief red flag. According to formula1.com, Lawson said over the radio that Verstappen had driven into him ("literally drove into me"). Verstappen called Lawson's conduct "not very smart behaviour" (formula1.com).

Then the stewards made their decision: according to The Race and Autosport, both drivers will drop one grid position on Sunday and each receive one penalty point on their super licence. According to Autosport, the stewards described the pair's behaviour as unacceptable, particularly as a warning had already been issued in the team managers' meeting. That is why they did not stop at a reprimand. According to the reports, both drivers admitted that their manoeuvres were unnecessary.

According to The Race and Motorsport.com, Isack Hadjar has to appear before the stewards on Saturday at 10:15 local time (17:15 German time). The summons concerns misconduct in an incident in the paddock. A video is circulating on social media that appears to show Hadjar pushing away a fan who wanted a selfie with him. According to The Race, however, it is not clear whether the summons is related to it. According to Motorsport.com, a sporting penalty is rather unlikely, while a fine is possible. No decision has been made yet.

According to formula1.com, ten of the eleven teams ran young or reserve drivers in first practice, with only Ferrari sticking to its regular line-up. The best of the young drivers was Frederik Vesti in the Mercedes. Nikola Tsolov, Freddie Slater and Gabriele Mini drove in their first Formula 1 practice session. When Slater pulled away, a sidepod cooling fan was still attached to his car. The stewards planned to investigate this possible unsafe release after the session.

On Saturday, third practice starts at 18:30 and qualifying at 22:00. The race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez gets under way on Sunday at 21:00 (all times German time). In the drivers' championship, Antonelli is well clear on 365 points, ahead of Russell (242) and Hamilton (241).