Charles Leclerc has had a disrupted race weekend so far, with issues in FP1 and a crash in FP2, but the Monegasque driver will still be hoping to put his car at the front of the grid during qualifying on Saturday.
Leclerc set the second fastest time in the first practice session on Friday, however it was not plain sailing for the 25-year-old, only being able to complete a limited number of laps.
“Unfortunately we has a puncture straight out of the box in FP1, so we had to pit and did just a few laps on the soft tyres after that,” he explained when quizzed about his lack of running in the first session.
FP2 got even worse for Leclerc, who has run out of luck at times this year, losing the rear of the car at Turn 8 and spinning into the wall, causing significant damage to the back of his Ferrari.
READ: Sebastian Vettel makes retirement admission after being urged to stay in F1
“I lost the rear at the start of the high-fuel [run], but that was my mistake. I’m confident it won’t hurt my weekend,” he said.
“I don’t think any of it will compromise us. I think we have enough [spare parts] now with all the penalties we’ve had in the past, so it should be fine.
“We tried something on my car which I didn’t particularly like, so I wasn’t as much at ease with the car than I was in FP1, but I know what to do for tomorrow, so confident that the performance will be there.”
“Not the best of Fridays as we didn’t complete a great number of laps but I am confident that we will have a good day tomorrow, as the feeling in the car is good.”
READ: Lewis Hamilton’s brilliant reply when asked if he is the greatest of all-time
His Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz was the fastest man on track during the first practice session, backing up Leclerc’s suggestions that Ferrari should still be on for a strong weekend in Mexico.
Leclerc will be looking for finish the year on a high following a turbulent year for the Ferrari golden boy, before working away in the off season for a better title charge in 2023.
The 25-year-old who sits second in the Championship started the year strong, winning in Bahrain and mounting a real title challenge while Red Bull battled with technical issues, however mistake by Leclerc and the team, alongside DNFs have seen Max Verstappen run away the 2022 drivers’ championship.