Mexico GP: Russell leads, Leclerc crashes during tyre test in Practice 2

George Russell went fastest for Mercedes as 2023 tyre testing once again dominated Practice 2 at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Like in Austin last weekend, those drivers who didn’t participate in Practice 1 were given 45 minutes to conduct setup work on this year’s Pirelli rubber.

As a result, Russell led an unusual top three, posting the best time of the day, a 1m19.970s, to lead Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon in third for Alpine.

Further down, Alex Albon completed three laps on the soft tyre, after a delayed start, but had his run cut short by a red flag caused by Charles Leclerc crashing hard into the barrier at Turn 7.

Also eligible to run this year’s tyres was Kevin Magnussen, but a power unit change after Pietro Fittipaldi stopped on track during FP1 delayed his session until he had to run the 2023-spec rubber.

As for the rest, they had to follow a set run plan set by Pirelli including two five-lap performance runs and two eight-lap race simulations on the tyres being developed for last year.

What remains notable about the new compounds is the lack of grip, particularly in the early laps as they are heated to just 50C in the garage compared to 70C currently.

It was that which potentially caused Leclerc’s leary spin at Turn 7 as he lost the rear after also running onto the outside kerb on the approach.

Additionally, the very dusty Mexican track continued to offer very little grip with many drivers running wide or having moments under traction.

Of the 2023 tyre testers, Lewis Hamilton was fastest in fourth, just ahead of the two Red Bulls as local hero Sergio Perez led teammate Max Verstappen.

After leading FP1, the two Ferraris sat seventh and eighth as Valtteri Bottas and Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.

Reliability issues also continued to creep up with several drivers reporting niggles, including Perez and Hamilton.

Daniel Ricciardo had a repeat of his brake problem from the earlier session, while Zhou Guanyu ended FP2 a little early by coming to a stop with a hydraulic failure in the stadium section.

Full results from Practice 2 can be seen below: