2024 Mexico City GP FP2: Carlos Sainz tops the timesheets

Max Verstappen’s struggles with engine issues continued to limit the championship leader’s running at the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix, while George Russell’s crash halted the second practice session.

This extended practice session, lasting 90 minutes to accommodate testing for next season’s tyre compounds, saw Verstappen complete only four laps without setting a time. Earlier in the day, his first practice was also cut short due to an engine problem, which team principal Christian Horner initially downplayed as “minor,” only for it to resurface in the second session.

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  2024 Mexico City GP FP1: George Russell fastest

Meanwhile, off-track drama unfolded as McLaren’s appeal to overturn Lando Norris’ penalty from the United States Grand Prix was rejected. During a video conference held between the two practice sessions, representatives from McLaren, Red Bull, and the FIA reviewed the five-second penalty imposed on Norris for overtaking Verstappen last Sunday, but the decision stood.

Russell, who had shown promising pace by topping the first session for Mercedes, crashed just 12 minutes into Practice Two after losing control at Turn 8, hitting the barrier at high speed. Reflecting on the crash, Russell said, “I don’t really know what happened; the car just started bouncing, and before I could react, it was already spinning. It’s tough for the team with so much repair work needed yet again.”

Carlos Sainz led the session for Ferrari, though lap times were hard to interpret without public information on the tire compounds each driver used. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri came in second, while Norris, Verstappen’s closest title contender, finished in fifth.

Lando Norris was among five drivers, including Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who sat out the first practice session as their teams met the requirement to field young drivers in two practice sessions during the season.

The British pair, along with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, and Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu, were subsequently permitted to run on the 2024 medium compound tyres in the final stages of Practice Two. Norris made significant progress on the medium tyres, improving by nearly half a second to move from ninth to fourth, while Alonso, competing in his record 400th race weekend, climbed from 15th to ninth in the closing moments.

With five rounds left in the 2024 season, Verstappen leads the Drivers’ Championship by 57 points over Norris. The Red Bull driver expressed confidence that an engine change—and the potential grid penalties it might incur—would not be necessary.

“No, we’ll be alright,” Verstappen assured when asked about the possibility of changing his power unit. “We’re checking the engine, but I’m not sure what it is. From my side, a useless day. I did four or five laps—not much to take from it at this point.”

Meanwhile, Williams’ Alex Albon was unable to participate in the second practice after a major crash in the first session, leaving his car with extensive damage that couldn’t be repaired in time. Stewards reviewed Albon’s incident with British teenager Ollie Bearman, representing Ferrari as a young driver, and determined no further action was required.

Mexico City GP FP2 Results

2024 Mexico City Grand Prix FP2, 25 October 2024