While championship leader Max Verstappen complained of engine problems during practice for the Mexican Grand Prix, George Russell once again had a high-speed accident.

Russell, who had previously topped the order in first practice, caught the kerb and careered into the barriers at turn nine 12 minutes into the second session.

This comes a week after the Mercedes driver crashed during qualifying in Austin.

The British driver was taken to a medical center and 24 minutes of the 90-minute session, one hour of which was devoted to Pirelli’s 2025 tire tests, were red flagged.

Mercedes later confirmed that Russell had been discharged from the medical center and was fine.

Verstappen complained of an engine problem during the opening run in Mexico City on Friday but Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said between sessions that the team believed it was a “minor issue”.

The championship leader, who was 57 points ahead of Lando Norris in the championship standings, soon began to experience problems in second practice and was quickly recalled to the pits.

“This noise is very disturbing. This cannot be normal,” Verstappen said over the team radio.

He returned to the track but was immediately recalled and failed to make a timed lap on the board.

The three-time world champion will face a grid penalty if he has to buy a new power unit between now and the end of the season.

Championship hopeful Norris missed first practice while driving Mexican rookie Pato O’Ward’s McLaren. Russell set the fastest time ahead of Carlos Sainz, while Verstappen finished fourth, more than eight tenths behind.

Norris was back behind the wheel in second practice and had his McLaren up to fifth on medium tyres, by the time the session ended. Sainz topped the charts ahead of Oscar Piastri and Yuki Tsunoda.

It was difficult to judge the times in the second session, given that the vast majority were built on prototype tire compounds as part of Pirelli testing.

There was another high-speed crash on Friday’s opening run when Alex Albon collided with British teenager Oliver Bearman.

When Bearman slowed on the outside, allowing him to move into Turn 10, the Williams driver lost control of his car and was thrown into the front wheel of the Ferrari at high speed before spinning into the barriers.

Albon was quick to blame Bearman for the unusual training incident, labeling the 19-year-old an “idiot” on team radio.

Bearman, who competed in two races for Ferrari and Haas this season, was removed from the session due to Albon being removed by the medical car; Williams later confirmed that their drivers were fine.

Williams wrote about X: “Most importantly, both drivers are in good condition following the incident in FP1 earlier today.

“Alex caught Ollie at an unfortunate spot on the track; Alex had limited options due to a slow moving car in his field of vision.”