Mercedes has revealed that it had to turn down the performance of its engines during Friday practice at the Mexican Grand Prix due to overheating concerns.
Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas finished the second practice session in seventh and ninth, with deficits of over 1.3s to the pace-setting Red Bulls. The gap to title rivals Ferrari was smaller at just 0.1s, but technical director James Allison is hopeful the team will be able to turn up the performance if the forecast for cooler temperatures over the weekend holds true.
"This is an unusual track, which places unusual demands on the chassis, power unit, cooling systems and tyres," Allison said.