FP2: Sainz impresses in second practice, Russell suffers high-speed crash
Having ended the opening session in second spot, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz displayed an even more impressive performance in Free Practice 2, by setting the quickest lap with a time of 1m17.699s. F1Technical's lead journalist Balazs Szabo reports on the second session at the Hermanos Rodriguez track.
The second practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix was an unusual one, with Pirelli lying down a run plan for each team. It meant that all the drivers needed to complete two fast runs and two longer runs which enabled the tyre manufacturer to make comparisons across the C4, C5 and C6 compounds.
Despite the extended session, there was early drama in FP2 after Mercedes driver George Russell lost control of his W15 and hit the barriers heavily at Turn 9. The incident brought out the red flag, with marshals forced to repair the barriers. The two-time F1 race winner was able to climb out of his car, but he was taken to the medical centrer for inspection.
After the session got going again, Red Bull's Max Verstappen encountered engine-related issues - similar to his problems in FP1 - which forced him to crawl back into the pits. With the Milton Keynes-based outfit unable to fix the issues, the Dutch driver was unable to complete any meaningful running and sat out the remainder of the session.
Although Williams mechanics worked hard to complete the repair job on Alexander Albon's FW46 after his heavy crash in FP1, the Grove-based team failed to complete the work in time. It meant that the London-born Thai driver spent the session in the garage.
After the Pirelli-mandated short runs, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz found himself at the top of the timesheets with a lap of 1m 17.699s using the C4 tyre, 0.178s clear of Oscar Piastri in second.
Similar to the opening practice, RB driver Yuki Tsunoda completed the top three, displaying an encouraging performance for the Faenza-based outfit. Having missed FP1 and the opening stages of FP2, Charles Leclerc looked in good form after his dominant victory in Texas, ending the session fourth quickest.
Lando Norris's MCL38 was driven by IndyCar driver Patricio O'Ward in FP1, but the Briton returned to action for the extended practice to put himself into fifth. Kevin Magnussen continued the encouraging trend for Haas, claiming sixth in FP2, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, home hero Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson.
Ahead of his 400th Grand Prix appearance, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso slotted into P11 after he missed the opening session in which Aston Martin's reserve driver Felipe Drugovich sat in his AMR24.
Nico Hulkenberg finished in P12, from Esteban Ocon in P13, Lance Stroll in P14 and Franco Colapinto in P15. Alpine had a quiet day, with Pierre Gasly ending the 90-minute session in P16, with Kick Sauber’s Zhou behind in P17.
Having only completed two flying laps due to his high-speed crash, Russell was classified in 18th. Verstappen and Albon ended the hour at the bottom of the timesheets after neither of them set a timed lap in FP2.
