️ F1 updates from 9pm GMT in Mexico City
️ Giles Richards’ race scene-setter | And mail Philip
Lawson’s seat at Racing Bulls is in doubt for next season, but Estaban Ocon has lost his at Haas for this weekend, as well as being on his way in the winter. Our Giles Richards reports:
Before any running on Saturday had begun the Haas team made a shock decision to drop their driver Esteban Ocon from competing in the race weekend. The Frenchman was replaced in qualifying by the reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa. The 32-year-old Japanese driver, who has won two World Endurance Championships and the Le Mans 24 Hours, will make his F1 race debut on Sunday.
Ocon is set to be replaced next season by the Ferrari junior Rafael Camara and his sudden removal from competition in Mexico suggests relations between him and the team have broken down. He had an angry exchange with his race engineer, Laura Müller, during FP2 on Friday, after which he returned to the Haas garage without removing his helmet.
Red Bulls’ Verstappen was embroiled in an incident that left him with damaged bodywork, tangling with Racing Bulls’ Lawson in a feisty fight for track position going into the Foro Sol section.
Verstappen said New Zealand’s Lawson caused the trouble near turn 12, their minor collision spewing debris over the circuit and causing a red flag so the track could be cleared.
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