Russell replaced by De Vries: 'Makes it a bit more complicated'

"It was a shame how things panned out with the race start. Completing the race with a damaged front wing which didn't help. It was annoying to see that race ahead of me and not getting involved. Lewis showed what the car was capable of," said Russell, speaking of a "step in the right direction" at the press conference.

However, he warns that the W13 does not necessarily have to be competitive in Mexico because it was the same in Austin last week. "We took a step in the right direction but not fair to judge on one event. This is a slightly different circuit now. Hopefully we can be in the mix again. Mexico is a unique one, tyre prep is really difficult. The lack of air density and oxygen, it's difficult for the cars and engines. We have to wait and see."

No Russell in FP1

Nyck de Vries joins Mercedes for first free practice for the second time this season. Earlier in 2022, Lewis Hamilton had to give up his seat, now it is Russell's turn. For the younger of the two Britons, it makes his weekend all a bit trickier. This is because the second free practice session will test Pirelli tyres for 2023. Russell does get to go out on the current tyres briefly in the second practice session, but it is not long.

So he has little preparation time towards qualifying, but he is not really worried about it. "It makes it complicated in terms of setting the car up and getting into the groove, FP1 is always tricky because this track isn't used often, it's dirty and dusty. The 90 minutes in FP2 gives me the chance to catch back up. It won't be too much of a loss," Russell concluded.