Mexican Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Verstappen untouchable

After a first uneventful session, marked by dust on the track, the fans on site were expecting to see a bit more of a show. Between the two sessions, the race organizers had tried to remove the dust from the track. But the result was not as expected.

The start of the session was marked by a nice traffic jam in the last corners. It seems like all the drivers agreed to go out at the same time. They were driving at a very low speed, hoping to get enough space to make a good lap. But some drivers were staying in the last corner, preventing others from finishing their fast lap. Lewis Hamilton had to cancel his lap twice, hindered by Kimi Räikkönen. Conditions already seen during the previous Grand Prix weekends. His rival, Max Verstappen, set the fastest lap time first in 1.18.206. The Red Bulls seemed to be in great shape this Friday.

Beep 🚗🚙🚗 beep!

It’s bumper to bumper early on in FP2 😮

📻 Lewis Hamilton radios “This is insane” #MexicoGP 🇲🇽 #F1 pic.twitter.com/HyuKgrVNVo

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 5, 2021

While Valtteri Bottas was struggling to achieve a good time, George Russell was encountering some problems with his car, especially regarding his gearbox. Unfortunately for the Williams driver, the issue with his car was much more significant. His session ended after half an hour, and he could be seen in jeans next to his boss. It is worth noting the good laps of Yuki Tsunoda (3rd) and Sebastian Vettel (4th), both less than a second behind the leading driver.

Looks like George’s FP2 is over 😖

The Williams engineers are working hard to fix the gearbox problem #MexicoGP 🇲🇽 #F1 pic.twitter.com/ijs7kvx1Ks

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 5, 2021

Unlike the first session, Hamilton seemed to be a bit more in trouble facing his direct championship rival. He set a real first time in 1:17.810. After switching to the red tires, the seven-time world champion tried to reduce the gap by taking advantage of the light traffic, but without success. The Mercedes was sliding at several places on the track, greatly reducing the car’s performance. Verstappen, on the other hand, remained untouchable with his time of 1:17.301.

During the last ten minutes, Nicholas Latifi had a spin at the same spot as Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez in the first session. Luckily, it had no impact on the car. The rankings remained unchanged until the end of the session. Verstappen finished in first position with the Mercedes completing the podium. In front of his home crowd, Perez secured the fourth position.

The ranking of the second free practice session