2024 F1 Round 20 Mexico City GP FP2 — Sainz fastest with 1:17.699, Tsunoda third again, Russell crashes and Verstappen sets no time

The second practice session for the 2024 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, round 20 of the season, took place at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on the morning of 26 October, Beijing time. With FIA approval, the session was extended to 90 minutes for Pirelli’s 2025 tyre test. Carlos Sainz finished fastest with a 1:17.699, 0.178 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri in second. Yuki Tsunoda was third for the second session in a row, just another 0.001 seconds behind. Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris completed the top five.

As part of the development programme for the following year, each driver received two sets of unmarked test tyres. One was a baseline set of 2024-specification C4 or C5 tyres, and the other a 2025-specification C4, C5 or C6 option, with the new C6 compound making its track debut. Drivers followed a fixed programme of five low-fuel laps and 12 high-fuel laps to gather data for Pirelli, with the aim of reducing overheating and degradation. The five regular drivers who had given up their seats in FP1 — Norris, Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Zhou Guanyu — returned to the cockpit and completed timed laps on medium tyres. With different compounds and run plans across the field, however, the timesheets offered only a limited basis for comparison. Pirelli also acknowledged that the data gathered had been less than ideal.

A crash again brought out the red flags. Around a quarter of an hour into the session, George Russell’s car bounced repeatedly over the inside kerb at Turn 8 and bottomed out before he lost control and hit the barriers at Turn 9. His W15 was badly damaged, but fortunately a check at the medical centre found no serious injuries and he soon returned to the paddock. Alex Albon missed the session because repairs to his chassis could not be completed in time after his collision with Oliver Bearman in FP1. Max Verstappen continued to be troubled by unusual noises from his power unit. He completed just four laps without setting a time and ended at the bottom of the timesheets.

Home driver Sergio Pérez finished ninth, while Kevin Magnussen and Hamilton were sixth and seventh respectively. Tsunoda’s team-mate Liam Lawson was tenth, 0.682 seconds behind Tsunoda. RB gathered comparison data between the 2024 C5 and the 2025 C6 in this session. Third practice was scheduled for the early hours of 27 October, Beijing time, with qualifying following later that morning.