Sergio Perez took P1 as Red Bull responded to Mercedes’ strong morning pace in Practice 2 at the United States Grand Prix.
The Mexican was the only driver of the top two teams to complete a clean first flying lap on soft tyres and his 1m34.946s was enough to hold a quarter of a second advantage over Lando Norris in second for McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton had gone a tenth quicker than Perez on his low fuel run but exceeded track limits at Turn 19 meaning his time was deleted.
Still, the pace of Red Bull was much more competitive against Mercedes than suggested in the earlier session when Bottas and Hamilton held a nine-tenth advantage over Max Verstappen.
Neck and neck in the title battle, and in FP2 ? #USGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/wXuBD6kecG
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 22, 2021
As for the Dutchman, he had a fractious FP2 after he and Hamilton had a fracas on track early on, going wheel-to-wheel from the final corner all the way to the exit of Turn 1.
Then he couldn’t manage a clear lap on soft tyres due to traffic and ultimately abandoned his run in frustration, leaving him only eighth.
A poor lap for Valtteri Bottas left him fourth, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo who backed up McLaren’s strong pace.
Lance Stroll impressed in sixth for Aston Martin, with the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz either side of Verstappen in seventh and ninth respectively.
In 10th was Antonio Giovinazzi, fractionally ahead of Esteban Ocon.
The Spaniard manages to get back to the pits nursing some minor rear wing damage#USGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/4tj7eVEDR0
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 22, 2021
His Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso continued a difficult Friday in 13th and ended the session with a spin at Turn 19, where he made light contact with the barrier.
After a competitive morning, Pierre Gasly slipped down to P12, likewise Kimi Raikkonen in 14th.
Mick Schumacher beat Nicholas Latifi into 17th, while his grid penalty meant George Russell focused on long-run pace in 19th.
Nikita Mazepin continued to bring up the field in the second Haas.
Full results from Practice 2 can be seen below:
