Carlos Sainz Jnr set the fastest time of an extended second practice session in Mexico that was focused on testing tyre compounds.
Sainz was quickest ahead of Oscar Piastri. However championship leader Max Verstappen failed to set a time as the power unit problems he experienced in the first session continued.The second practice session of the day was an unusual one for several reasons. It was the first opportunity for five drivers who had handed their cars over to junior drivers for the first hour of running: Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso and Zhou Guanyu. The session was also extended to 90 minutes, to allow for teams to test Pirelli’s prototype compounds for 2025.
Drivers were given specific run plans to follow over the session, with compounds split between drivers in the field to try and gain as much representative data as possible for Pirelli.
After Alexander Albon and Oliver Bearman clashed in the opening practice session, both Albon and Leclerc were delayed in starting their sessions as repairs to their cars continued. Verstappen had reported concerns with his power unit in first practice and as the championship leader took to the track, he again reported “disturbing” noises from behind the cockpit, leading to him being called into the pit lane.
Sainz set the early benchmark with a 1’17.809, seven tenths faster than Liam Lawson who was just a tenth ahead of Piastri. But just over 10 minutes into running, the session was stopped when George Russell took too much kerb through turn eight and spun into the TecPro barrier, triggering a red flag. Russell climbed out of his significantly damaged Mercedes and was taken to the medical centre for checks before being cleared and released.
The session resumed after more than 20 minutes of delays for barrier repairs. Verstappen took to the track once more but again reported that everything was not right with his power unit, resulting in him being brought to the garage for an early end to his afternoon.
Drivers continued on their prescribed runs, with Sainz improving on his own best time of the session with a 1’17.669. Piastri also improved, moving up into second. In the closing minutes, the five drivers who had missed the opening practice session had the opportunity to run on a set of medium tyres from their weekend allocation, but when the chequered flag flew Sainz remained the fastest driver.
Yuki Tsunoda finished the session with the third-fastest time set on the prototype 2026 C6 compound, with Leclerc fourth ahead of Norris. Kevin Magnussen was sixth ahead of Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, with Lawson tenth ahead of Alonso. Albon never got out in the session as a result of ongoing repairs to his Williams.
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2024 Mexican Grand Prix second practice result
P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’17.699 | |
2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’17.877 | 0.178 |
3 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’17.878 | 0.179 |
4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’17.887 | 0.188 |
5 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’17.948 | 0.249 |
6 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’18.239 | 0.540 |
7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W15 | 1’18.279 | 0.580 |
8 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’18.351 | 0.652 |
9 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’18.392 | 0.693 |
10 | 30 | Liam Lawson | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’18.560 | 0.861 |
11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’18.579 | 0.880 |
12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’18.621 | 0.922 |
13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’18.656 | 0.957 |
14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’18.890 | 1.191 |
15 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’18.908 | 1.209 |
16 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’18.942 | 1.243 |
17 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’18.980 | 1.281 |
18 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W15 | 1’19.041 | 1.342 |
19 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | No time | |
20 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | No time |
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2024 Mexican Grand Prix
- McLaren have no regrets over pitting Norris shortly before red flag came out
- Leclerc fined, avoids same penalty as Verstappen after apologising for swearing
- Leclerc not in the clear over swearing as Verstappen claims he went unpunished
- Majority of drivers wanted racing rules to change “straight away” – Russell
- Verstappen was “over the limit” with Norris but others would do same – Leclerc
AlanD
26th October 2024, 1:55
Crawling from the wreckage
Crawling from the wreckage
You’d think that by now that
Merc would get the message
Sounds like the same problem again with the Mercedes, on a knife edge between being fast and undrivable.
Kotrba
26th October 2024, 7:12
It has not been fast either, at least since Belgium.
Mayrton
26th October 2024, 8:03
I don’t think it is going to happen anymore for Mercedes without Brawn and a strongly favouring set of regulations.