Alexander Albon surprised friend and foe by finishing second in the 1st free practice session, just behind Max Verstappen. Can Williams really compete for the podium places? We hope to find out during the 2nd free practice for the 2023 Mexican GP. It is also the last chance for the teams to test next year’s second softest tire type. You can recognize these tires because they do not have a colored ring on the side.
In the preview for this race weekend we briefly mentioned that it might rain today (although we had our reservations about the weather stations that predicted this). Yet some droplets appear to come from the air. In the last bend, a fast, sharp right bend, there is some drift fluid. It’s not enough to cause chaos, but still. And before we forget: our sincere apologies to the aforementioned weather websites.
Yep… it’s definitely raining!
Drivers are reporting sprinklings on track, but it’s not wet enough to require a tire change just yet 💦#MexicoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/beocq4jhsA
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 27, 2023
In the first part of the second practice session, all drivers will ride on next year’s prototype tire or the mediums. So the riders collect data for next year and for the race. Verstappen is fastest over one lap on the tires with yellow rings, followed by Leclerc. About halfway through the 2nd free practice, the soft ones emerge in Mexico.
Alonso’s heart rate increases briefly
The drivers now also dare to take more risks. Fernando Alonso is one of these drivers and is doing incredibly well. In the fast right-left-right section his Aston Martin loses all grip. Fortunately for Alonso and his mechanics, there is plenty of room to run. After a piroutte in which a lot of smoke comes from the four tires, Alonso can continue his way.
That was a scary spin for Fernando! 😵💫
A snap of oversteer almost puts Alonso in the barriers, but he turns it into a beautiful 360 and returns to the pits#MexicoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/JF7tV6CpGn
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 27, 2023
No focus on qualifying due to the rain
Unfortunately, F1 has not yet created a graphic that allows us to see how much fuel each driver is carrying. As a result, we don’t know for sure how much a driver practices for qualifying. What also doesn’t help is the threat of rain. Teams now want to stay outside as much as possible. You need enough gasoline for that. In addition, it will not rain for the rest of the weekend. The information for the race is therefore more important than qualifying.
As a result, the list below is not a good prediction for qualifying. We think you can pick out the drivers who are not currently where they should be. Albon does let things down a bit, although he did have a big moment in the same corner combination as Alonso in his fastest lap. So there was still some time saved.
And with eighteen minutes to go, the rain falls again. Once again, there isn’t enough coming out of the blue to get the drivers to switch to grooved tires. What it does ensure is that the drivers stay outside mediums. The times on the soft tires are therefore no longer improved. The session can be completed on dry weather tires. Max Verstappen is again the fastest.
Results of the 2nd free practice for the 2023 Mexican GP
- Verstappen
- Norris
- Leclerc
- Bottas
- Pérez
- Ricciardo
- Hamilton
- Ocon
- Piastri
- Russell
- Sainz
- Tsunoda
- Zhou
- Albon
- Hulkenberg
- Gasly
- Sargeant
- Stroll
- Magnussen
- Alonso
What time does F1 start in Mexico?
Saturday
3rd free practice: 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Qualification: 11:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Sunday
Race: 9:00 PM
#Changing #weather #disrupts #practice #program #2nd #free #training #Mexico