Short track, big pressure: Russell fears chaos in Mexico qualifying

George Russell is bracing for a tense qualifying at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, warning that traffic and tight margins could make Saturday’s session a tricky affair for drivers.

Russell ceded his seat in Friday’s FP1, as scheduled, to Fred Vesti, which gave the Briton an opportunity to blend in with the fans in the Foro Sol stadium while wearing a lucha libre mask to remain incognito.

After spectating in the arena, the Mercedes star reflected on what lies ahead, highlighted the challenge of the Mexico City circuit in qualifying, where even minor timing errors can spell an early exit from the knockout rounds.

"One thing when you're an F1 driver, is you can't watch F1,” he said. “It's rare you get the chance to go out, and I thought, you know what, I'll try and do something semi-normal, and I didn't get recognised too much, and enjoyed it.”

Traffic and Tight Margins

Russell cautioned that the circuit’s short layout and twisty final stadium sector are likely to create some chaos in Saturday’s grid-defining session.

"Yeah, I mean, this is, I don't know if it's the second... I think it's the second shortest track of the season, this one. Third, right, so third shortest track of the season, and especially with this last sector, it's so slow speed, tight, twisty, so traffic in Q1, Q2 is going to be an issue, same for everybody,” Russell explained.

“You can't take too much margin because the gaps are so close, and obviously in Q1, the backfield cars are often going two or three sets of new tyres, and if you want to get to Q3 with two sets, you can't be throwing tyres at it, so it's never straightforward."

Upon his return to action in FP2, Russell set the sixth fastest time, just four tenths off Max Verstappen’s pace. Rookie teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli also impressed, finishing third, signaling a competitive day for the Silver Arrows.

• Read also: Russell goes full lucha libre and undercover at Mexico City GP

“Single lap, I think we look OK,” he said. “Lando looked very quick on his long run, but as we know, qualifying is so important.

“So it all lies on that for tomorrow, and see what we can do, but it'll be close between the top eight cars."

With traffic, tyre strategy, and the track’s unforgiving layout all in play, the stage is set for a qualifying session that could descend into chaos if teams and drivers fail to navigate the fine margins.

For Russell and Mercedes, the goal is clear: master the mayhem to secure a strong starting position for Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix.

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