Hamilton's Ferrari stops in Mexico City FP2 after sudden loss of power
Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari lost power at Turn 13 in second practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix and had to be stopped on track. Ferrari does not yet know the cause, and Hamilton missed the long runs after completing 13 laps.
A stoppage at the wrong moment
Lewis Hamilton lost most of his second practice session in Mexico City on Friday, 30 October 2026, when his Ferrari suddenly lost power and was parked at the side of the track. Ferrari had arrived in Mexico as the fastest team in Friday running, and Charles Leclerc again topped the timesheets. For Hamilton, the evening was about waiting for answers instead.
What happened
According to the radio transcript published by PlanetF1, Hamilton reported: "Something's wrong with the power. I lost all power from Turn 13." His race engineer, Carlo Santi, told him the car had to be stopped on track. Hamilton asked whether he could try a restart; the answer was that it was not possible.
Hamilton had completed 13 laps by then, against 35 for Leclerc. PlanetF1 reports that he was 0.685 seconds off Leclerc's best time, while Crash.net says he was 11th on the timesheets and had not yet finished his qualifying simulation runs on the soft tyre. Both outlets agree that he missed the long runs that teams use to judge race pace.
No explanation yet
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said the cause was not yet known and that the team would hold a debrief on Friday evening. Crash.net quoted Hamilton as saying that the team was "still investigating to find out what's wrong" and that he was "just praying everything's ok". He added that he had felt good in the car and had been quick before the problem struck.
The reports do not say whether the issue could lead to a power unit change or a grid penalty, and neither Ferrari nor the FIA has said so. Under the rules, new power unit elements beyond the season allocation carry grid penalties, so the outcome of Ferrari's investigation will matter for Sunday's grid.
A limited Friday
The stoppage came after a Friday that had already been reduced for Hamilton. In first practice he finished fourth, 0.738 seconds behind Leclerc, and spent part of the session on aero rake tests for Ferrari, which cut his running, according to PlanetF1. Together, the two sessions leave him with less data than his team-mate heading into Saturday.
Qualifying takes place later on Saturday 31 October, and the race follows on Sunday 1 November. Ferrari's findings on the power loss are the open question until then.
