The second practise session of the day will be 90 minutes long due to the extra time allowed for the testing of the new Pirelli tyres and the extensive amount of young drivers implemented in the previous on track session.
Following his FP1 crash involving Oliver Bearman, Williams announced that Alexander Albon will miss the beginning of the session, but the British team hope to be able to have their Thai driver out on track before the end of the session. Another driver not joining his colleagues on track for the start of FP2 is Max Verstappen, who suffered from an engine air leak issue in FP1 and is still in the Red Bull garage getting reparations done.
The session will see every team complete performance runs following a Pirelli protocol, during which for three laps all cars have to run with the same fuel load on the C5 tyre.
Lando Norris was the first driver out on track, but it’s his teammate Oscar Piastri who secured the lead of the provisional standings after the first set of attempts with a 1:19.030s, ahead of Perez, 0.026s off the papaya driver’s time and Bottas, third with a gap to the leader of 0.120s. The Mexican driver running in P2 mentioned an issue with a too stiff brake on the radio.
Carlos Sainz is the fort driver to sign a lap in the 1:18, hopping on the provisional P1, while a brief yellow flag was shown due to Gasly running off track in the grass at Turn 1.
Verstappen joined the grid 10 minutes in the session, but immediately brought u to his team’s attention the fact that his engine made a weird noise. After completing an outlap, the three times World Champion returned to the pits, as the noise was consistent and his brakes didn’t work as well, which he mentioned on the radio after having a moment at Turn 1.
Lawson slots in P2 0.751s behind the Ferrari driver, in a positive performance for Racing Bulsl overall with Yuki Tsunoda in the top 5 as well.
The first red fag of the session was issued with one hour and seventeen minutes to go as George Russell crashed out heavily at Turn 9. The driver is okay but suffered from a severe impact on his ribs, as replays show the Mercedes driver running over the kerbs and losing control of his car.
Top ten under the red flag features Sainz, Lawson, Piastri, Magnussen, Tsunoda, Hamilton, Colapinto, Perez, Russell and Bottas.
US GP winner Charles Leclerc has not been out on track as well, with extra checks needed following the FP1 contact between the young driver who had replaced him, Ollie Bearman, and Albon.
Session resumed with 54 minuets left on the clock. The first driver to improve at the restart is Magnussen, who bolts up to P2 0.430s off Sainz’s top spot, with Bottas slotting in P3 and Sainz lowering the benchmark to 1:17.699s, 1.2s ahead of his teammate Leclerc’s first effort of the day, who mentioned power cuts while on his outlap.
Verstappen attempted an outlap as well, but returned to the pits right after, having completed only 4 laps in the Mexican afternoon. With 46 minutes to go Piastri returns in P2 only 0.001s ahead of Tsunoda whereas Leclerc joins the top 5 0.188s off his teammate.
Russell is being visited at the Medical Centre following his earlier crash, whereas Red Bull announces Verstappen will not resume the session as his power unit issue needs to be further investigated.
Zhou Guanyu mentions his brakes burning with 30 minutes to go in the session, as Russel is released from the Medical Centre. The Sauber driver’s issues on the other hand worsen as he begins to suffer from engine cuts.
The final half hour of the session focused on the prototype run, with the top ten not changing. Thus, Carlos Sainz ends FP2 on top with a strong 1:17.699s, joined on the podium by Piastri and Tsunoda. Leclerc and Norris round off the top 5 with Magnussen, Hamilton, Bottas, Perez, Lawson and Albon in the top 10.
