With a 25 degree air temperature and around 36 per cent humidity, all eyes were on this glorious Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez track and the stands were packed at the start of the second free practice session for the 2022 Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen was one of the first out on track leading a queue of cars eager to get on with their session, as both Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, were running the Pirelli test tyres in this second testing session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
After leading Practice One, Carlos Sainz continued to do just that at the start of this second session with a 1:21.943 lap. The Spaniard was followed by Pierre Gasly (+0.243), Max Verstappen (+0.292) and his Maranello team-mate Charles Leclerc (+0.339). All of four drivers were running on the tyres being tested in this session.
The only drivers that weren’t on the test tyres at this stage, were those who weren’t in their cars for FP1 due to rookies, as George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda were putting in their first laps of the Mexican race weekend.
George Russell then jumped to the top of the timesheet on the soft tyres, as he put in laps prior to moving into the tyre testing period. His 1:19.970 set a new bar with Yuki Tsunoda, another driver who was out there for his first laps of the weekend, following behind (+0.828).
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Unfortunately, Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc suffered a heavy crash midway through the session, as he lost control of the rear of his F1-75 car and hit the barriers hard at the exit of Turn 7. The car was severely damaged, which means the Maranello team’s mechanics will have to work through the night to have it ready in time for Saturday, but there should be no consequence for Charles, as the race gearbox is usually incorporated during FP3.
A lot of damage also to the barrier and there was a lengthy delay in this second practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City.
After a queue in the pit lane, the session restarted with around 35 minutes of running time remaining. The three fastest times at this stage remained thoss set by George Russell, who lead with a 1:19.970, Yuki Tsunoda (+0.828) and Esteban Ocon (+1.207) all on the soft tyres. All three weren’t in their cars during FP1 due to rookies, so had the start of FP2 to run the usual tyre allocation before moving into testing.
Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, gave us a little more insight into the tyres and why the tyres weren’t as fast as the old tyres: “I believe that during the tyre test they are not pushing at the limit. Also, the cars are set up for the 2022 tyres. These (new) tyres should give them a bit less understeer, that’s one of the targets on our development for next year, together with an increased level of integrity and a better wear profile.”
Carlos Sainz returned to the track on 2023 Proto tyres to complete Pirelli’s development programme. With 90 seconds to go, we had another a red flag in sector three as Zhou Guanyu pulled off the track and there was no more time for the session to be resumed. The Ferrari Spanish driver finished the second free practice session for the Mexico City Grand Prix in eight place.
On the other hand, it was a difficult and early end to Practice Two for Charles Leclerc, who lost the rear end of the car and ended up in the barriers. It is going to be a long night in the Ferrari garage.
Here’s the timesheet, just a reminder that the top three drivers all used the soft tyres before moving into the tyre test having had rookie drivers in their cars during FP1.
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