Max Verstappen, who missed the first session, set the fastest time in the second free practice session before the Mexican Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver successfully tested the new package of improvements introduced by the team for the 20th round of the Formula 1 season, reports gong.bg. In the first minutes, Charles Leclerc with Ferrari was the fastest - 1:18.353 minutes, continuing his good pace from the morning session.
After the drivers switched to soft tires for qualifying simulations, Leclerc again took the lead with 1:17.545 minutes. A little later, however, Verstappen improved his achievement by 0.153 seconds, stopping the clocks at 1:17.392.
In the subsequent long series with used tires, the world champion complained of a lack of grip and said on the radio that the feeling was “like driving on ice“.
The third time was recorded by the young Andrea Kimi Antonelli with Mercedes, who, despite a minor technical problem at the beginning, showed a steady pace. The top 5 was completed by Lando Norris with McLaren and Lewis Hamilton with Ferrari.
Norris reported interruptions in the engine, but was nevertheless fastest in the long series, where he overtook his competitors by about four tenths. The other McLaren driver and leader in the overall standings - Oscar Piastre, finished the practice session only 12th.
The gap between the drivers from second to tenth place was minimal - just 0.4 seconds, which promises a contested weekend at the “Autodrome Hermanos Rodríguez“.