Max Verstappen topped the second practice session of the Mexico City Grand Prix, a session in which all four leaders were in the top four.
Sitting out of FP1 to give junior Arvid Lindblad a spin did no harm to Verstappen’s speed, with the Dutchman rocketing to top spot with his only run on soft tires and a fastest lap of 1:17.545s. However, he was not entirely satisfied with his afternoon, reporting that his car’s grip during his long run on the medium tire was “terrible” and “like driving on ice”, although such complaints are typical of high-altitude circuits, where downforce is limited by the thinner atmosphere.
Charles Leclerc, fastest in the first session, followed the reigning champion by 0.153 seconds in another competitive practice hour for Ferrari. Andrea Kimi Antonelli impressed in third place, his fastest lap just 0.021 seconds slower than Leclerc. However, the Italian rookie set his fastest time later than most of the rest of the field and would therefore have benefited from slightly better track conditions.
Lando Norris made it four teams in the top four, although the Briton’s session was far from easy. After sitting out FP1 to give Pato O’Ward a ride in his car, Norris almost immediately reported a faulty drive unit, which increased in power as he entered the track. The team resolved the problem, but Norris’s first flying lap was compromised in the final sector, costing him half a second. A second flying lap on the same set of soft tires corrected the mistake, putting him in fourth place, but 0.251 seconds off first place. However, he fared better than teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished the session twelfth and 0.84 seconds off the pace.
The title leader was also half a second off the pace on his first flying lap, although a slide through the mid-sector cost him, but he appeared unable to complete a second flying lap on soft tires before starting his long-term simulation, leaving him with an unrepresentative time that dropped him well down the pecking order. McLaren further distinguished itself by having both drivers make long runs on the soft tire instead of the medium compound used by all the other frontrunners.
Lewis Hamilton finished fifth for Ferrari and 0.3 seconds away from first place. He led George Russell in the second Mercedes, who was a further 0.137 seconds behind, and Yuki Tsunoda, who was firmly on the pointy side but still 0.491 seconds slower than his teammate who topped the session.
Fernando Alonso was the best among the midfielders, the Aston Martin driver was 0.546 seconds off the pace. It was enough to beat Williams driver and 2024 Mexico winner Carlos Sainz by 0.001 seconds. Lance Stroll was just 0.016 seconds behind his Aston Martin teammate to complete the top 10.
Liam Lawson finished 11th as the fastest Racing Bulls driver despite missing out on FP1. He led Piastri, Haas driver Esteban Ocon and teammate Isack Hadjar in the second RB car. Sauber teammates Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg showed none of their FP1 pace en route to a closely matched 15th and 16th, 0.931 seconds and 0.956 seconds off the pace respectively. Oliver Bearman followed in 17th place, the Briton more than 1 second off the pace, ahead of Franco Colapinto, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly at the bottom of the timesheet.
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