Mexico Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Verstappen remains in first place, a light rain joins the party

Midnight in France, 4pm in Mexico, it was under the blazing sun that this last session began on Friday. While the famous « Checco » was still echoing in the stands of the circuit, small drops of water even joined the Mexican chants.

The first practice session was dominated by Verstappen and almost taken over by the 5 F2 drivers in testing. Now, it’s the regular drivers who have been able to get back in their cars and find their rhythm: Gasly, Russel, Bottas, Tsunoda, and Magnussen completed their first laps in this second free practice session.

The sequence of the session

It was Riccardo who opened the session setting the first time on hard tires. A time that was almost immediately beaten by Norris and Verstappen, who were testing the new Pirelli C4 tires for the 2024 season.

After just over 5 minutes, a dark cloud appeared to darken the path, and a few raindrops joined the party.

Albon, already in great shape during FP1, then set the fastest time, still on the new C4 test tires.

Verstappen then complained about a tear off that got caught in his rear suspension, but that didn’t stop him from retaking first place: 1:19.511 on medium tires, specifically the C4 but the 2023 version.

The top speeds are always insane in Mexico, Verstappen was caught at 348 km/h, his teammate Perez at 347!

The exit attack rounds

The McLarens then came out of their boxes, with Piastri putting on the softest tires and setting the fastest lap time in 1:19.163.

Alonso already struggling with his Aston Martin, which is rapidly degrading his tires, managed to perform a beautiful 360 in the corner of turn 9… well recovered, and without any harm!

Max Verstappen took the opportunity to also put on the red tires in order to achieve the fastest lap in 1:18.686.

At mid-session, Magnussen, Tsunoda, and the Aston Martin were at the bottom of the standings. The drivers who couldn’t drive in FP1 appeared a bit further back, except for Bottas and Russell, who were already in pace with the 4th and 10th positions. Even though comparisons remain difficult as each driver’s programs can vary.

20 minutes before the end of the session, the single-seaters then followed one another to carry out the departure procedures at the pit lane exit. Usually at the end of the sessions, these procedures were anticipated due to the announced return of rain on the weather radars.

Lance Stroll then remained stationary in the garage for a long time as his front left tire was blocked, and he still couldn’t start on soft tires.

A light rain had indeed reappeared, the racing cars were no longer improving their lap times, as the track had become too slippery. Nevertheless, they all remained on the track, with most of them on medium tires, in order to gather data for the Sunday Grand Prix.

The hierarchy remained the same: Norris stayed 0.119s behind the Dutch driver, and Leclerc stayed 0.266s behind. Relatively small gaps.

Bottas, with his time, secured the 4th position in the standings, which may be a good sign before Saturday’s race. Let’s also note Ricciardo’s 6th place.

A ray of sunlight appeared on the checkered flag, to conclude this day of testing. A few single-seaters went through the starting procedure on the grid, Verstappen and Bottas even offered us a little duel at the first corner, much to the delight of the numerous fans!

Free Practice 2 ranking of the Mexican Grand Prix.