Formula 1: Sainz quickest as Russell crashes out in FP2

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Friday’s running in Mexico came to a close this evening as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz lead the timesheets ahead of Oscar Piastri and Yuki Tsunoda as FP1’s quickest man, George Russell, crashed out in spectacular fashion that brought out red flags for the third time today.

The evening session, extended from 60 to 90 minutes to allow for additional running on the 2025 prototype Pirelli tires, saw 30 minutes of added time for those drivers who sat out in FP1 for the rookie sessions as teams were asked to run specific fast a long runs across three different compounds.

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from FP2 in Mexico as Sainz goes fastest while Russell’s heavy crash brings out the red flags

Much like in FP1, Red Bull again faced struggles with Max Verstappen’s car as the championship leader began complaining of poor brake feel and an odd noise coming from the engine compartment. Soon after, he was told to box as red flags flew for the Mercedes of George Russell. Russell, having set the pace earlier in the day, lost the rear of his car after taking too much curb in turn 8, pirouetting the Silver Arrow into the outside barriers in turn 9, prompting the circuit to go quiet as marshals recovered the vehicle while Russell made his way to the medical center for evaluation.

As the action resumed with less than 55 minutes remaining, Red Bull’s extended repair time on Verstappen’s car seemed to be futile as he was soon called back to the garage, joining the absent Alex Albon without a time in the session.

With time dwindling, the five drivers who missed FP1 took the extended time to bolt on new medium compound tires as Piastri and Tsunoda went second and third quickest, unable to topple the pace of Sainz. Last weeks winner, Charles LeClerc, was forth quickest after his Ferrari was rebuilt following the incident between rookie Oliver Bearman and Williams’s Alex Albon.

Lando Norris and Kevin Magnussen were fifth and sixth quickest, the Haas team enjoying yet another strong outing in free practice as former teammates Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas finished seventh and eighth as the Sauber team also seems to be enjoying a strong run of pace. The lone Red Bull running in Sergio Perez ended the day ninth and Liam Lawson rounded out the top 10.

Friday’s running is now complete and teams will turn their attention to the final practice of the weekend before the evening’s qualifying session. The actin on track kicks off at 11:30 local time on your local streaming services.

Free Practice 1 Report – CLICK HERE

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2024 Schedule

DateSessionTime (Local Circuit)
Oct. 25thPractice 112:30 – 13:30
Practice 216:00 – 17:00
Oct. 26thPractice 311:30 – 12:30
Qualifying15:00 – 16:00
Oct. 27thRace14:00

Free Practice 2 Results:

Pos

No

Driver

Car

Time

Gap

Laps

1

55

Carlos Sainz

Ferrari

1:17.699

34

2

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

1:17.877

+0.178s

30

3

22

Yuki Tsunoda

RB Honda RBPT

1:17.878

+0.179s

30

4

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:17.887

+0.188s

31

5

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

1:17.948

+0.249s

36

6

20

Kevin Magnussen

Haas Ferrari

1:18.239

+0.540s

34

7

44

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

1:18.279

+0.580s

36

8

77

Valtteri Bottas

Kick Sauber Ferrari

1:18.351

+0.652s

32

9

11

Sergio Perez

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:18.392

+0.693s

32

10

30

Liam Lawson

RB Honda RBPT

1:18.560

+0.861s

29

11

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes

1:18.579

+0.880s

35

12

27

Nico Hulkenberg

Haas Ferrari

1:18.621

+0.922s

34

13

31

Esteban Ocon

Alpine Renault

1:18.656

+0.957s

30

14

18

Lance Stroll

Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes

1:18.890

+1.191s

34

15

43

Franco Colapinto

Williams Mercedes

1:18.908

+1.209s

30

16

10

Pierre Gasly

Alpine Renault

1:18.942

+1.243s

30

17

24

Zhou Guanyu

Kick Sauber Ferrari

1:18.980

+1.281s

37

18

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:19.041

+1.342s

4

19

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

4