FP2: Sainz sets the pace as Russell crash disrupts practice session extended for Pirelli tyre testing in Mexico

Carlos Sainz topped the timesheets during second practice ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix, while a hefty crash for George Russell brought out the red flags in a session extended from 60 to 90 minutes to allow for testing of Pirelli’s 2025 prototype tyre.

Each team was given a run plan by Pirelli – featuring two fast runs and two longer runs per car – to enable the tyre manufacturer to make comparisons across the C4, C5 and C6 compounds. Those drivers who sat out FP1 were also granted an extra 30 minutes of practice time to gain representative running on the standard medium tyres.

FP1: Russell leads Sainz and Tsunoda during first practice in Mexico after dramatic Albon/Bearman collision

Lando Norris was the first to head out onto the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez when the lights went green for the 90-minute session, the McLaren man amongst the drivers to start their running early.

“The brake pedal feels a bit stiff,” Sergio Perez reported as he put his first laps on the board in front of his home fans, while Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen commented on a “weird noise”, the Dutchman having suffered an engine issue in FP1. After further complaints about the “disturbing” sound, Verstappen was told to box.

There was drama just over 10 minutes into the session when Russell hit the barriers heavily at Turn 9 after taking too much kerb into Turn 8, bringing out the red flags in the process. The Mercedes driver fortunately walked away from the incident, though the Medical Car was deployed to take him to the medical centre.

As the clock ticked down while the incident was cleared – offering Red Bull a chance to look into those issues for Verstappen – action resumed with 54 minutes remaining. The world champion’s RB20 did not seem to have been fixed, though, with Verstappen told to box again due to the “same problem”.

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the FP1 action from Mexico City as Russell tops the times while Albon and Bearman crash

Alex Albon was also unable to join the fray, the Williams team still working to rebuild the FW46 following his collision with Ollie Bearman during first practice. Meanwhile, with 30 minutes remaining, Sainz sat at the top of the timesheets on a lap of 1m 17.699s using the C4 tyre, 0.178s clear of Oscar Piastri in second.

The focus might have been on tyre testing but some drivers looked to be up for a bit of race action, with Norris enjoying a wheel-to-wheel moment with Fernando Alonso ahead of the Aston Martin driver’s 400th race this weekend.

As the session entered into its final minutes, Zhou Guanyu, Norris, Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc – who all handed their cars over to rookies in FP1 – bolted on the medium tyres, but none could better Sainz’s benchmark time, keeping the Ferrari man on top.

Piastri and Yuki Tsunoda completed the top three for McLaren and RB respectively, while Leclerc and Norris put themselves into fourth and fifth. Kevin Magnussen was sixth for Haas, ahead of Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Perez and Liam Lawson.

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Alonso slotted into P11 from Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll and Franco Colapinto, the latter acting as Williams’s sole runner in the session. Pierre Gasly followed in P16 for Alpine, with Kick Sauber’s Zhou behind in P17.

Russell was classified in 18th, the Mercedes driver sidelined by his crash, while Verstappen and Albon ended the hour at the bottom of the timesheets after limited running for the former and no track time for the latter.

With Friday’s track action at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez now complete, the drivers and teams will examine their data before returning for third and final practice at 1130 local time on Saturday – ahead of qualifying later on at 1400.