The Japan Times - Verstappen rules again with 'double top' in practice

The newly-crowned three-time world champion, who was quickest in the opening session, topped FP2 with a best lap in one minute and 18.686 seconds to outpace nearest rival Lando Norris of McLaren by 0.119 seconds.

In deteriorating conditions in front of a boisterous and partisan crowd, rooting for his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, Verstappen stayed ahead of the pack with a determined performance after beating Williams’ Alex Albon by 0.095 in FP1.

Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, ahead of a revived Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo, Perez, Daniel Ricciardo of Alpha Tauri and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes who was seventh.

Esteban Ocon was eighth for Alpine ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and George Russell in the second Mercedes, but with the top ten separated by only half a second there were few clear signs of performance and potential.

The 26-year-old Dutchman showed his competitive edge again as he seeks to add to his 15 wins this year and career total of 50 on Sunday, but not with a clear performance advantage.

Russell, keen to make up for his absence from FP1 when he was one of five drivers whose seat was taken by a rookie, was first out and set the early pace in humid conditions with a track temperature of 38 degrees. By the end it had dropped 10 degrees.

The rarefied air at the high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, standing 2,285 metres above sea level, was measured at 26 degrees.

All but five of the 20 drivers were running on Pirelli test tyres, with Hamilton and Bottas on hards, before light rain began to fall, but not heavily enough to warrant tyre changes.

After a strong showing in FP1, Albon topped the times to revive memories of Williams triumphs in Mexico with Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese before Verstappen regained the initiative in 1:19.511, on mediums.

Piastri, making his first visit to race in Mexico, was the first driver to take softs and promptly went top in 1:19.163 with Albon slotting in behind him, three-tenths adrift, before Verstappen regained the ascendancy ahead of Norris and Hamilton.

The fluctuating nature of the action reflected the problems most drivers were having with the thin air and slippery circuit, conditions that reduced the downforce of their cars in front of a partisan crowd that roared at every sight of local hero Perez.

Several drivers experienced big ‘moments’ including Alonso who survived a huge spin at Turn Nine without smacking the wall and Perez, who recovered from a dramatic wobble at the final corner.

With 20 minutes remaining, light rain returned with murky conditions that prevented improved lap times, leaving Carlos Sainz, recovered from illness, down in 11th for Ferrari and Fernando Alonso 20 th for Aston Martin after a disappointing session.

K.Yoshida--JT