Max Verstappen took the lead within the second apply of the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix, which included the entire prime 4 groups.
Having missed FP1 to provide junior Arvid Lindblad a spin, Verstappen’s pace remained intact and the Dutchman surged into the lead with a solo run on delicate tires and a quickest lap of 1:17.545. Nonetheless, he was not solely glad with the afternoon’s outcomes, reporting that the automobile’s grip was “horrible” and “like operating on ice” throughout lengthy runs on medium tires, complaints typical of high-altitude circuits the place downforce is proscribed by the skinny ambiance.
Charles Leclerc, who set the quickest time within the first session, adopted the reigning champion by 0.153 seconds in Ferrari’s separate aggressive apply session. Andrea Kimi Antonelli completed third, together with his quickest lap simply 0.021 seconds slower than Leclerc. Nonetheless, the Italian rookie recorded a slower quickest time than the others and will have taken benefit of barely higher observe circumstances because of this.
Lando Norris had 4 groups within the prime 4, however the Brit’s session was something however easy. After lacking FP1 to run Pato O’Ward’s automobile, Norris nearly instantly reported an influence unit misfire, with energy spiking as he headed to the circuit. Though the group resolved the issue, Norris’ first flying lap was compromised within the closing sector, shedding half a second. He made up for his mistake by doing a second flying lap on the identical set of softs and moved as much as fourth place, 0.251 seconds off the lead. Nonetheless, he did higher than teammate Oscar Piastri, ending the session in twelfth place, 0.84 seconds off the tempo.
The title chief was equally 0.5 seconds off the tempo on his first flying lap, which was misplaced because of a slip within the center sector, however he appeared unable to finish his second flying lap on the delicate earlier than coming into the long term simulation, leaving him with a less-than-representative time and dropping considerably within the standings. McLaren additional differentiated itself by having each drivers sort out lengthy runs on delicate tyres, quite than the medium compound utilized by all different prime groups.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was fifth, 0.3 seconds behind the chief. He led George Russell within the second Mercedes, who was an additional 0.137s behind, and Yuki Tsunoda, who was firmly within the sharp finish however was 0.491s slower than his session-leading teammate.
Better of the midfielders was Fernando Alonso, with the Aston Martin driver 0.546 seconds off the tempo. This was sufficient to beat Williams driver and 2024 Mexican winner Carlos Sainz by 0.001 seconds. Lance Stroll completed within the prime 10, simply 0.016 seconds behind his Aston Martin teammate.
Liam Lawson completed eleventh as Racing Bulls’ quickest driver regardless of lacking FP1. He led Piastri, Haas driver Esteban Ocon and teammate Izak Hajar within the second RB automobile. Sauber team-mates Gabriel Bortleto and Nico Hulkenberg confirmed no tempo in FP1, ending an in depth fifteenth and sixteenth, a distinction of 0.931s and 0.956s respectively. Oliver Bearman adopted in seventeenth place, with the Briton greater than a second off the tempo, adopted by Franco Colapinto, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly on the backside of the timesheets.
