Mexico – Free Practice 2: Vettel and Ferrari play spoilsport
Sebastian Vettel confirmed Ferrari's good form in Mexico, setting the fastest time of the session 4 thousandths of a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Nico Rosberg was in a little more difficulty, as were the Red Bulls, who lagged behind.
Pascal Wehrlein and Romain Grosjean kick off the second free practice session which aims to provide some answers to the morning’s questions. Will Nico Rosberg be able to close the gap on his teammate? Can the Ferraris keep up with the pace of the Mercedes?
At the beginning of the session, the hometown driver, Sergio Pérez, struggles to keep his Force India on the right track. The Mexican plays with the skids of his car but nevertheless manages to set a convincing time.
Brief yellow flags as local hero Sergio Perez takes a spin out of Turn 5 🔄 😣#MexicoGP 🇲🇽 #FP2 pic.twitter.com/v0eQS4aG8F
— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 octobre 2016
The Ferraris seem to confirm their good form from FP1, while many drivers are making mistakes, either at the end of the straight by locking their wheels while braking or aggressively riding the heavily-used curbs on this circuit. Even Lewis Hamilton, who set the fastest time this morning, makes a mistake and misses his braking, but without any consequences.
Sebastian Vettel sets the first benchmark time at 1:19.790, followed 4 tenths of a second later by his teammate Kimi Räikkönen. A little later, Hamilton manages to position himself between the two Ferraris, just 4 thousandths of a second behind Vettel. The Super Soft tires are out and lap times are plummeting.
Meanwhile, problems are piling up for Romain Grosjean, who might not set a time during this session. The Frenchman is on foot with a closed expression. But a miracle occurs 20 minutes before the end, and the Haas driver manages to get on the track.
Not looking good for @RGrosjean – he hasn’t set a time so far in #FP2 and he’s walking away from the garage #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/vPuG29QCxB
— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 octobre 2016
Nico Rosberg is not very comfortable today. He is trailing four-tenths behind his teammate, making quite a few mistakes, and even complaining about his practice starts, unlike Lewis Hamilton, who has been on a good run since this morning.
The Red Bulls are a little behind today as well. Daniel Ricciardo, only 5th, is under pressure from the Force Indias and the Williams, who are running their Mercedes power units at maximum on a power track. In fact, Felipe Massa holds the speed record on the track currently.
SPEED TRAP: Saubers showing impressive speed but MAS still top of the pile 🚀 #MexicoGP #FP2 pic.twitter.com/fnzr7YzV2d
— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 octobre 2016
At the bottom of the rankings, we find the Haas, Manor, and Sauber teams, while the Renaults somewhat confirm their progress seen in recent races. Kevin Magnussen is 14th, and his teammate Jolyon Palmer is 16th.
The final minutes of the session will be devoted for the majority of the drivers to evaluating the tires on long stints. The Soft compound tires, with yellow bands, are being used. The lap times will not change, and Sebastian Vettel therefore retains his best time, ahead of Hamilton, Rosberg, and Räikkönen.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF #FP2): VET on top for @ScuderiaFerrari as @LewisHamilton stays ahead of @nico_rosberg #MexicoGP 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/G8elpMpT8U
— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 octobre 2016
