MEXICO CITY GP – George Russell fastest by eight tenths in second practice
George Russell was fastest in the second practice session ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver set a 19.970 which put him ahead of the Alpha Tauri of Yuki Tsunoda by eight-tenths in a session which was largely devoted to tyre testing.
Throughout the session drivers were assigned run plans by Pirelli with softer compounds than in Austin Drivers were required to run identical programmes through the session, comprising two five-lap runs before then going for two eight-lap runs. Russell was however one of five drivers not taking part in the test, those who sat out FP1 to allow young drivers to take part were allowed to use the 2022 tyre.
Tsunoda set a 20.798, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Williams’ Alex Albon in running the 2022 tyres through the first half of the session. Russell was set his time on the soft after the top three switched to softs with Ocon going a further four-tenths behind, they had done the initial runs on mediums.
Lewis Hamilton was the fastest driver involved in the tyre test going fourth, a second and a half behind Russell’s session-topping time. Throughout Friday Mercedes looked very competitive although the seven time champion went into the weekend admitting his chances of a win in every season he has competed is likely to end.
Sergio Perez put his Red Bull fifth eight hundredths behind Hamilton and was just under a hundredth ahead of his teammate Max Verstappen. But the Mexican struggled with rear locking and was seen experimenting with different lines, there was also bouncing along the main straight.
Verstappen’s championship rival this season Charles Leclerc as three-hundredths further behind after setting his best time on the prototype tyres. That put the Monacan nine hundredths ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Pierre Gasly rounding out the top ten.
However the Monacan’s session was brought to an early end when he crashed during his third stint on the prototype tyres. He lost the rear through Turn Seven with the rear going into the wall and bringing out a twenty-minute red flag.
Fernando Alonso was eleventh going four hundredths ahead of Sebastian Vettel, Alex Albon’s short run on the soft tyre put him thirteenth ahead of the two McLarens. Lando Norris going fourteenth eight hundredths ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo, ahead of the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.
Mick Schumacher was four-tenths ahead of Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen. However the Danish driver was limited to twenty laps, when his car which was being driven at the time by Pietro Fittipaldi suffered an engine failure. That means that he will take a grid penalty for the race.
Nicolas Latifi was nineteen nearly five hundreds ahead of Guanyu Zhou. The Alfa Romeo driver brought the session to an early conclusion when a hydraulic failure lead to him stopping in the Fol Sol stadium
Related
- MEXICO CITY GP – Carlos Sainz Leads A Ferrari One-Two In First Practice Going Four Hundredths Ahead Of Charles Leclerc
- F1 Today – Mexico City Prixview – 27/10/2022
- PRIXVIEW – Mexico City Grand Prix