F1 Mexican Grand Prix: Friday Roundup

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg topped the second practice for the Mexican Grand Prix on Friday, beating the Red Bull pairing of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.

Mexico returns on the F1 calendar after a 23 year hiatus, with the last race in the South American country held in 1992. Support from the government has allowed for a complete revamp of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, including multiple changes to the track layout.

Initially the track remained slippery and damp, forcing drivers to venture out on the intermediate tyre. However, as the conditions improved, drivers were able to switch to the two dry compounds.

In terms of lap times, Rosberg was quickest of all, setting a time of 1:21.531. Kvyat and Ricciardo were two and three tenths slower respectively, while newly crowned triple world champion Lewis Hamilton was classified fourth.

Sebastian Vettel lapped 0.453 seconds slower than pacesetter Rosberg, whom he has vowed to beat in the drivers standings. Kimi Raikkonen finished a position behind his Ferrari teammate in fifth place.

Meanwhile, Williams - who blamed an undiscovered bump on track for a double DNF in Austin - finished seventh and tenth respectively, with Bottas leading the charge for the Grove based squad.

Encouragingly, both McLaren drivers finished in the top 10, but are set to start the Mexican Grand Prix from the back of the grid, after yet another engine change.

Force India has brought a new aero package to the Mexican Grand Prix, as they hope to spring a podium finish at Sergio Perez’s home venue. Perez was 15th fastest in FP2, four places behind Nico Hulkenberg, who has retired from five of the last eight races.

Max Verstappen slammed his Toro Rosso into the barriers at the penultimate corner, bringing the session to an abrupt halt. Bottas also damaged his car with an incident at turn 1, but was able to drive back to the pits. Several other drivers had their own share of off-track excursions.

F1 Mexican Grand Prix - FP2 Results (Top 10)

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:21.531
2. Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull-Renault) +0.245
3. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull-Renault) +0.337
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.430
5. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) +0.453
6. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) +0.868
7. Valtteri Bottas (Williams-Mercedes) +1.190
8. Fernando Alonso (McLaren-Honda) +1.462
9. Jenson Button (McLaren-Honda) +1.578
10. Felipe Massa (Williams) +1.758