More engine problems for Formula 1 championship leader Max Verstappen and another massive accident for George Russell’s Mercedes were the main talking points from second practice for the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari set the pace, from Oscar Piastri’s McLaren and Yuki Tsunoda’s RB, while Verstappen’s Red Bull failed to set a laptime - but the 90 minutes of running were basically unrepresentative owing to this session being given over to Pirelli for a 2025 tyre test. 

F1 teams had to follow a specific, pre-agreed run plan, involving qualifying simulations and race runs on specific compounds using frozen car setups, and so as different teams were required to run different compounds, comparisons of the times are pretty much worthless.

Apparently this is one of F1’s ‘creative solutions’ to give Pirelli some tyre testing without requiring teams to stay on after a race weekend during a busy sequence of back-to-back flyaway races, which feature several sprint events that further restrict free practice running.

Drivers who missed FP1 so rookies could drive their mandatory sessions were allowed to do some running on race weekend tyre compounds if they chose to do so.

A handful fitted the medium (C4) for the final few minutes, and of those only Lando Norris (fifth fastest) and Fernando Alonso (11th) set lap times quicker than they managed on the experimental 2025 rubber.

VERSTAPPEN’S RELIABILITY CONCERNS DEEPEN

The ongoing problems for Verstappen will be of serious concern, though. He suffered a power loss on his Honda engine in FP1 and Red Bull couldn’t get the car to run cleanly in FP2.

He completed just four laps without setting a representative time and immediately reported hearing a “weird noise in the engine” which he described as “very disturbing”.

Verstappen has already taken a grid penalty for an engine change at Spa earlier this season, so he will face another if he’s forced to fit a new power unit here.

RUSSELL’S LATEST MONSTER SHUNT

Russell topped the times in FP1 but caused a near-20-minute interruption to Pirelli’s tyre test by crashing heavily at Turn 9 and totalling his Mercedes against the barriers.

The car bottomed out over the Turn 8 kerb before careering off the track on the outside. The impact was heavy enough to require Russell to report to the medical centre but he was reported to be back in Mercedes’ hospitality building and feeling “physically OK” before FP2 had finished.

This was Russell’s second major accident in the past week, following the heavy accident at the end of Q3 for the US Grand Prix that forced him to revert to an old floor for last weekend’s race and this week’s Mexican GP.

Charles Leclerc was fourth quickest in a repaired Ferrari that was late taking part in Mexico FP2 owing to the damage caused when reserve driver Ollie Bearman collided with Alex Albon’s Williams in FP1.

Albon’s heavily damaged car requires a new gearbox and engine change, as well as extensive repairs to the suspension, so took no part in FP2.