The weather conditions during the second free practice session were highly variable, with sun and clouds affecting the teams’ work programs. However, they managed to complete their race and qualifying simulations. In this analysis, let’s look at the race pace simulation for Sunday’s Mexican GP.
How did Ferrari perform in the race pace simulation in Mexico?
Evolution of lap times during the race pace simulation in FP2 of the Mexican GP – Credits: Francesco Zazzera for F1inGenerale.com
The race pace simulation during the second free practice session at the 4.304-kilometre Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City revealed an unusual picture. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Verstappen but Norris with his MCL60 who proved to be the most effective. The Englishman managed to string together a series of 12 laps with a very consistent pace in the 1:22 and a half range. Much of the credit goes to the new medium tire he used for this test. Behind him, we find Charles Leclerc, who, despite losing some pace in the last few laps due to light rain, also posted times similar to Lando Norris. It’s worth noting that the medium tire Charles Leclerc used for the stint was 5 laps more worn, a significant factor in evaluating the pace.
Carlos Sainz also delivered a good performance, opting for a milder introduction. There was a slight anomaly within Red Bull. In fact, in the pace simulation, Sergio Perez was the fastest, even though he was using hard tires compared to Max Verstappen’s mediums. Sergio Perez’s times support his choice, as he managed to maintain a slightly better average than his teammate.
Average times during the race pace simulation – Credits: Francesco Zazzera for F1inGenerale.com
In the graph above, we can observe the average lap times maintained by the drivers during their simulations. As mentioned earlier, Norris was the most effective, followed by an outstanding Perez on hard tires. Just behind them, we find Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. The latter had an unexpected start to his stint, given the times recorded in succession, but these times increased later due to reduced grip caused by light rain. Max Verstappen was somewhat enigmatic, recording an excellent attacking time but showing a small upward trend in the subsequent laps. Carlos Sainz, who managed his tires differently at the start of the stint, was a bit further behind.
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How indicative are these times? Given the temperatures during FP2, the values are good. However, in the next two days, temperatures are expected to rise, along with the likelihood of increased tire degradation. We’ll see tomorrow if the teams choose to conduct further simulations in preparation for Sunday’s race.
Source: f1ingenerale
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