Verstappen responds to Mercedes in FP2 in Mexico

The Red Bull driver sets the Friday benchmark at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, more than 4/10ths ahead of Valtteri Bottas and his rival Lewis Hamilton.

Published on 05/11/2021 à 23:02

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Verstappen responds to Mercedes in FP2 in Mexico

The leader of the Drivers classification starts his Mexican weekend in an ideal way / © DPPI

Max Verstappen sets the record straight. Outpaced by the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton during Free Practice 1 of the Mexico Grand Prix, the world championship leader responds in EL2 with the best time of the opening day in the Mexican capital.

The Dutchman's effort is rewarded with a time of 1'17''301, which puts him 0”424 ahead Bottas, and more than half a second ahead Hamilton, which he precedes by 12 points in the Drivers' standings with 5 races to go in 2021.

His teammate Sergio Pérez, hero of an entire people, once again completes the leading quartet, a handful of thousandths behind the seven-time world champion.

The gap with the rest of the ranking is much greater since Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) is more than a full second behind Verstappen in 5th position. Pierre Gasly confirms his good intentions by grabbing 6th place at the wheel of his Alpha Tauri.

The Frenchman precedes his Monegasque friend Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and his teammate Yuki tsunoda (AlphaTauri), already condemned to a start at the back of the grid due to a Honda engine change.

Multiple world champions Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) and Fernando Alonso (Alpine) complete the first half of the table.

His teammate Esteban Ocon must be satisfied with the 14th time. New discreet session for McLaren. Lando Norris is in 12th position, while Daniel Ricciardo is ranked 15th. The Australian, however, was slowed down by a gearbox problem, just like George Russell, who had to shorten his session at Williams.

Note the encouraging 16th time of Mick Schumacher in Haas. The champion of Formula 2 2020 is ahead Lance stroll (Aston Martin), who was on a staggered schedule due to his upcoming grid penalty due to an engine change Mercedes, Nicholas latifi (Williams), his Haas teammate Nikita mazepin, and Russell therefore, who was unable to sign a timed lap.

Red Bull against Mercedes: it's a well-known poster this season but it's been a long time since we've seen such significant gaps with the rest of the field.