F1 – Sainz tops extended FP2 in Mexico as Russell crashes
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz went quickest in a 90-minute second practice session for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix defined by Pirelli tyres testing and halted for a long period following a heavy crash for Mercedes’ George Russell.
At the start of the session McLaren’s Lando Norris set the early pace with a time of 1:19.895 using a prototype C5 compound Pirelli tyres designed for use in 2025. Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez then moved well clear with a lap of 1:19.150 set on the same compound.
Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri, using the 2024 C4, this weekend’s Medium tyre, then took top spot with a lap of 1:19.030, before Sainz eclipsed that by more than seven tenths of a second, using 2024 C4s to set a time of 1:18.276. He then worked his way down to a time of 1:17.809s before Russell brough the session to a halt.
The Mercedes driver clattered over the kerbs on exit in Turn 8 which caused his W15 to bottom out and he spun off at high speed. Russell hit the barriers hard but the Mercedes driver was fortunately unhurt, though he was taken to the medical centre for checks.
When running resumed, Sainz returned to the track on even softer 2025 C5s and the Ferrari driver reset the bar at 1:17.699s.
After a short burst of performance runs, Pirelli’s test requirements meant that drivers switched to longer, higher-fuelled runs of 10 laps on each of the compounds they had been allocated.
And when the flag at last fell on the busy session, Sainz held on to top spot ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who ended the 90 minutes just 0.178s off the Ferrari driver. Third place in the session went to RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, who finished just 0.001s off Piastri.
Charles Leclerc, in a Ferrari that had undergone repairs following FP1 when, with Oliver Bearman at the wheel, it was involved in a collision with Alex Albon, took fourth place with a time set on 2024 C4 tyres, 0.188s slower than his team-mate. Norris finished fifth on 1:17.948, with Kevin Magnussen sixth for Haas ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Perez. The top 10 order was rounded by RB’s Liam Lawson.
Elsewhere, there was trouble for championship leader Max Verstappen. The Dutchman reported hearing a strange noise from his power unit and he returned to the garage. Despite his team attempting fixes during the long red flag period, the issues remained and with just four laps on the board, Verstappen was forced to sit out the remainder of the session. He was classified 19th.
Alex Albon, meanwhile, took no part in the session, with Williams unable to repair the heavy damage sustained in his FP1 crash in time to get the Thai driver on track.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:17.699 34 199.415
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:17.877 0.178 30 198.959
3 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:17.878 0.179 30 198.957
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:17.887 0.188 31 198.934
5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:17.948 0.249 36 198.778
6 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:18.239 0.540 34 198.039
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:18.279 0.580 36 197.938
8 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:18.351 0.652 32 197.756
9 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:18.392 0.693 32 197.652
10 Liam Lawson RB/Honda RBPT 1:18.560 0.861 29 197.230
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:18.579 0.880 35 197.182
12 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:18.621 0.922 34 197.077
13 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:18.656 0.957 30 196.989
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:18.890 1.191 34 196.405
15 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 1:18.908 1.209 30 196.360
16 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:18.942 1.243 30 196.275
17 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:18.980 1.281 37 196.181
18 George Russell Mercedes 1:19.041 1.342 4 196.029
19 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT – 4