After a first session marked by the massive presence of rookies, where Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) was the fastest, the second free practice session of the Mexican Grand Prix brought back the starting drivers – and with them, Max Verstappen’s usual dominance on Mexican soil.
The Dutchman from Red Bull, who gave up the car to Arvid Lindblad in FP1, returned to the wheel and quickly set the pace, recording the best time of the session with 1:17.392, beating Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) by just over a tenth of a second. Young Kimi Antonelli, from Mercedes, shone again and closed the top 3, confirming his good form in his debut season in Formula 1.
Just behind, Lando Norris (McLaren) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) completed the top five, both less than half a second behind Verstappen’s time. George Russell, in sixth, kept Mercedes well positioned, while Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) showed consistency in the top 10.
Further back, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) closed the group of the ten fastest, while drivers such as Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Esteban Ocon (Haas) were left out of the top 10.
The Grand Prix continues this Saturday with the qualifying session at 10pm (Portuguese time), before Sunday’s race scheduled for 8pm.
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