#F1 #MexicoGP #FP2: @Max33Verstappen fastest by 0.153s over @CharlesLeclerc.

Verstappen Mexico GP FP2 – Reigning world champion Max Verstappen was quickest in FP2 at the Mexico City GP ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli who completed the top three. Championship leader Oscar Piastri was down in 12^th for McLaren.

Verstappen set the session-topping benchmark with the C5 red side-walled softer tyres posting a 1:17.392 and was 0.153 seconds faster than Leclerc whilst Antonelli was a further 0.174 seconds off the Red Bull driver.

RB’s Liam Lawson who returned to the cockpit of his VCARB02 racer (after Ayumu Iwasa deputised for the Kiwi) was the first to lead the pack out on a set of the C4 yellow-branded medium compounds.

Mercedes’ George Russell jumped the Kiwi and was the first to register a lap-time of a 1:20.253 as Haas’s Oliver Bearman slotted into second with his 1:20.421 effort on the C4’s.

Verstappen moved to P1 with his 1:19.567 with a purple middle sector and was beaten by Antonelli’s 1:19.444 to be 0.094 clear of Norris who slotted into second.

Antonelli reported to “limp home” aboard his F1 W16 entry.

Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto set a 1:19.445 to split Antonelli and Norris along with Piastri’s 1:19.482 flyer as Leclerc went fastest with three purples and a 1:18.669 hot-lap.

Williams’ Alexander Albon moved up into second to end up 0.637 seconds off Leclerc’s best effort with his C4 stint.

Norris was next with two personal bests and a purple sector three to slot into second with a 1:18.681 to end up 0.012 effort as Piastri jumped into third to be 0.264 seconds off Leclerc.

Hamilton placed his SF-25 briefly in fourth as Verstappen demoted the Briton to fifth with his 1:19.044 effort as the session approached the tenth-minute mark.

Russell with three personal bests moved to seventh on a 1:19.360 to wound up 0.691 adrift as Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll the sole driver running out of sequence on the C5 softer rubber jumped to sixth to be 0.603 off Leclerc’s benchmark.

Hamilton was next with a purple sector on and two personal bests to slot into third to be 0.020 seconds off leading team-mate Leclerc as Piastri placed his MCL39 entry fourth setting a 1:18.754.

Leclerc improved at the top on his next flying lap posting a 1:18.353 to be 0.328 seconds clear of Norris after posting a purple opening sector and a PB sector three.

Verstappen with two personal bests split Hamilton and Piastri with his 1:18.727 to wound up 0.374 off Leclerc as the session’s opening quarter reached the end.

Leclerc was next on his medium tyre stint with two purples lost time in the final sector and could not improve on his best effort missing out by 0.046 seconds.

Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda with three personal bests on the mediums was up into sixth posting his 1:18.981 to be 0.628 seconds off Leclerc’s best effort.

The majority of the field were in their garages adjusting their setups and putting in a lighter fuel load along with a set of the C5 softs to begin their qualifying simulation runs shortly at this stage of proceedings.

Williams’ Alexander Albon with two purples on the C5’s put his FW47 entry seventh overall on a 1:18.855 to end up 0.502 off after Antonelli returned on-track with three personal bests to go fifth on a 1:18.741 on the C4’s.

Replays showed Albon just tapped the wall with his rear-left out of the Mansell Corner, which could have went even quicker.

Antonelli was next on his medium compounds setting a purple sector one and personal best final sector to end up 0.261 off Leclerc’s best effort to be 0.261 seconds adrift.

Leclerc on his C5’s went even quicker with a 1:17.545 with two purple opening sectors and a personal best sector three as Piastri slotted into seconds to be 0.687 seconds off the Ferrari.

Norris then moved to second on his soft tyre sting to end up 0.635 seconds off Leclerc as Sainz placed his Williams third after Russell improved to second to end up 0.284 seconds off Leclerc.

Tsunoda slotted into fourth as his Red Bull team-mate Verstappen went fastest on a 1:17.392 to be 0.153 seconds clear of Leclerc on his third lap on the softs.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso with three personal bests on the C5’s went fifth in the order setting a 1:17.938 to end up 0.546 seconds off Verstappen at the top as the session past the halfway mark.

Stroll in his AMR25 entry slotted into eighth place on a 1:18.200 with his C5 tyre stint to be 0.808 seconds off Verstappen’s best effort.

Antonelli was next on his flyer on the softer rubber and jumped to third overall on a 1:17.566 as Hamilton placed his Ferrari fifth and 0.300 off Verstappen with 25 minutes left on the clock.

With less than 23 minutes remaining, the drivers began returning to the pits to adjust their setups and putting a heavier fuel load to prepare for their traditional long race data gathering runs.

Stroll was up into tenth in the classification setting three personal bests with his 1:17.954 to end up 0.562 off Verstappen.

Replays showed Verstappen locked his front-left into the turn four left-hander on his long run and catching a slide into turn five as the reigning world champion reported “It’s terrible, I have no grip – it is like driving on ice!”.

Replays showed Leclerc take a lot of kerb into turn two as the sparks flew under the SF-25 as the continued on with his race data gathering run.

Antonelli locked up into turn 13, as a result of coming up behind Lawson. “Ah, *****,” the Italian said. Bono “agrees with the sentiment” but Lawson wasn’t doing much wrong.

The session ended with Verstappen on top with Leclerc second as Antonelli rounded out the top three.

Norris was fourth and ahead of Hamilton who took fifth and Russell who placed sixth.

Tsunoda held seventh overall and in-front of Alonso who ended Free Practice 2 eighth as Sainz and Stroll completed the top ten.

You can see the full Formula 1 Gran Premio De La Ciudad De Mexico 2025 Free Practice 2 Results Classification at the link: FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2025 – PRACTICE 2

2025 F1 World Championship Standings

#F1 #MexicoGP FP1: @CharlesLeclerc fastest ahead of #Antonelli, @HulkHulkenberg.

#F1 Gran Premio De La Ciudad De Mexico 2025 Preview. #MexicanGP