Red Bull driver Max Verstappen set the pace during second practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix, the Dutchman leading the way from the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
After a total of nine rookies were given an outing during Friday’s first practice hour – which was topped by Leclerc – the drivers that had sat out that session returned to action for FP2, which got underway in warm and dry conditions at 1600 local time.
As all 20 cars peeled out of the pit lane within a few minutes of the green light appearing – the majority sporting medium tyres – there was early trouble for Antonelli when the Mercedes driver reported an issue on his W16, with the initial instruction being to “limp home”. The Italian was able to continue running, before again having to return to the pits as the problem persisted.
Antonelli’s team mate George Russell – who was amongst those to miss FP1 – had a wide moment off track during the opening moments, while Leclerc had set the pace in the first quarter of the session. The Ferrari racer went quickest on a lap of 1m 18.353s, just over three-tenths clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris and the other Scuderia car of Lewis Hamilton in second and third respectively.
Following a spell in the garage as the team worked on his car, Antonelli returned to the track to resume his programme. Alex Albon, meanwhile, tapped the wall out of Turn 16 with his Williams as he – and many others in the field – switched to the soft tyre as focus switched to flying laps.
As those flying runs came in, Leclerc looked to have held onto P1 by the halfway point of the session, with many of his rivals struggling to get close – but Verstappen proved to be the one to beat the Monegasque’s time by 0.153s after pumping in an effort of 1m 17.392s.
Hamilton had looked on course for a quick time, having matched Verstappen’s lap in the first sectors before losing time later on. Elsewhere, the McLaren pair of Norris and Oscar Piastri were both around eight-tenths adrift in P7 and P8 respectively, the duo having been outpaced by the likes of Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz.
Improvements followed as the session progressed, with Antonelli slotting into third on his slightly out-of-sync run plan from his team mate, while Norris moved up to fourth and Hamilton claimed fifth on his second attempt.
Verstappen, meanwhile, appeared satisfied with his soft-shod effort, having returned to the pits and bolted on a set of medium tyres before returning to the track for a race simulation run. In the other Red Bull, Tsunoda asked the team to check the floor of his car after taking quite a bit of kerb.
While the likes of Leclerc joined Verstappen in switching to the C4 medium compound, many remained on the C5 soft for their longer runs. One of these to stay on the latter was Piastri, the Australian sitting down in P12 on the timesheets on a weekend where he will be looking to bounce back from some trickier outings of late.
“I have no grip – it is like driving on ice,” Verstappen radioed in after a slide on the medium tyres, with Russell also reporting struggles with the rears on his Mercedes. For the final minutes of the session, Verstappen returned to the soft rubber while others encountered traffic, with Antonelli voicing frustration after locking up behind Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.
As the chequered flag fell – amid a busy end to the session that witnessed a few close run-ins – Verstappen remained on top thanks to his earlier effort of 1m 17.392s, putting the reigning World Champion ahead of Leclerc and Antonelli. Norris was the lead McLaren in fourth, with Hamilton, Russell, Tsunoda, Alonso, Sainz and Lance Stroll completing the top 10.
Lawson followed in P11, with Piastri ending the hour in a more distant P12. Haas’ Esteban Ocon claimed P13 from Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar (P14), the Kick Sauber pair of Gabriel Bortoleto (P15) and Nico Hulkenberg (P16) and the Haas of Ollie Bearman (P17), with the Alpines of Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly separated by Albon at the rear of the pack.
The drivers and teams will now regroup in the paddock to examine their data as they prepare for Saturday’s running, with FP3 set to begin at 1130 local time before Qualifying follows at 1500.
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