Exceptional performance on the flying lap by Max Verstappen, able to trim an abundant four tenths (0 “424 to be exact) to the first of the pursuers, Valtteri Bottas, with the Finn who preferred to make a double attempt after a first qualifying simulation that had not satisfied him. Third time for Lewis Hamilton, 0 “509 away from1’17″301 of the Dutch, with the latter making the difference in the second and third sector. Perez finished 4th at 0 “570 from the top and therefore only 61 thousandths from Hamilton. The Mexican was the last to stay under the second behind, since the first of the others was in fact Carlos Sainz, 5th at 1 “017 from the top.
Behind the Spaniard, Gasly closed, with the Frenchman confirming the good impressions received by AlphaTauri in the Mexican morning and in front of his friend Charles Leclerc, 7th at 1 “304. Tsunoda, Vettel and Alonso finished behind Charles, while Ricciardo and Russell had a very negative FP2: both stopped by gearbox problems, Daniel only covered seven laps, while George remained at the box for the whole session without even going out on the track.
Ferrari not fully satisfied
The sensations of the eve were those of seeing one Ferrari third clear force in Mexico, feelings partly confirmed by the fifth time trial of the day signed by Carlos Sainz. The Cavallino, however, still has to do in terms of set-up, at least this is what one thinks of following Leclerc’s onboards, struggling with a rear too much dancer all Friday. Problems not resolved by FP1, while Sainz did all in all better than his teammate; it should be noted, however, that only one of the two SF21 fitted the newly developed hybrid, and it can be assumed that it was on the Spaniard’s car.
Max also flies on the pass
The performance of the RB16B they were also exceptional on the race pace, with Max making the difference in the driven part. Perez’s references were also excellent, confirming a very competitive Red Bull (both drivers ran with the average). There Mercedes used a different compound than its rivals, using first the soft and then the hard (but the one used at the beginning of the session and for very few passes) but was unable to bring home times close to those of Red Bull, while among others a lot fast Pierre Gasly, who currently could pose a threat to Ferrari. Today’s references, however, must take into account the obvious improvement of the track, which is quite dirty even in these FP2s: with a more rubberized asphalt and therefore with more grip, the values on the field can still change.
Honda power #MexicoGP # F1 pic.twitter.com/RuVMOX4LYR
– Formula 1 (@ F1) November 5, 2021
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