At a glance
Charles Leclerc was fastest in Practice 2 at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix with a 1:17.827, 0.103s ahead of Lando Norris.
- Fastest
- Charles LeclercFerrari
- Gap to P2
- 0.103sto Norris
- Top three
- Leclerc, Norris, Russell
- Best lap
- 1:17.827
Ferrari‘s Charles Leclerc topped Friday’s Practice 2 for the Mexico City Grand Prix, edging McLaren‘s Lando Norris by 0.103 seconds. Practice times can often mislead given the usual variance in run plans and engine modes, but with the top ten separated by 0.642 seconds at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, early signs point to a tight fight at the front.
| Pos | Driver | Best lap | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles LeclercFerrari | 1:17.827 S | |
| 2 | Lando NorrisMcLaren | 1:17.930 S | +0.103 |
| 3 | George RussellMercedes | 1:17.933 S | +0.106 |
| 4 | Kimi AntonelliMercedes | 1:18.044 S | +0.217 |
| 5 | Max VerstappenRed Bull | 1:18.138 S | +0.311 |
| 6 | Isack HadjarRed Bull | 1:18.237 S | +0.410 |
| 7 | Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls | 1:18.389 S | +0.562 |
| 8 | Pierre GaslyAlpine | 1:18.407 S | +0.580 |
| 9 | Liam LawsonRacing Bulls | 1:18.455 S | +0.628 |
| 10 | Oscar PiastriMcLaren | 1:18.469 S | +0.642 |
| 11 | Lewis HamiltonFerrari | 1:18.512 S | +0.685 |
| 12 | Fernando AlonsoAston Martin | 1:18.596 S | +0.769 |
| 13 | Esteban OconHaas | 1:18.774 S | +0.947 |
| 14 | Oliver BearmanHaas | 1:18.849 S | +1.022 |
| 15 | Nico HulkenbergAudi | 1:19.023 S | +1.196 |
| 16 | Franco ColapintoAlpine | 1:19.132 S | +1.305 |
| 17 | Carlos SainzWilliams | 1:19.248 S | +1.421 |
| 18 | Sergio PerezCadillac | 1:19.406 S | +1.579 |
| 19 | Alexander AlbonWilliams | 1:19.578 S | +1.751 |
| 20 | Lance StrollAston Martin | 1:19.631 S | +1.804 |
| 21 | Valtteri BottasCadillac | 1:20.165 S | +2.338 |
| 22 | Gabriel BortoletoAudi | 1:20.174 S | +2.347 |
Tyre Compounds and Long-Run Pace
Every driver in the top ten set their fastest lap on the soft compound. Leclerc, who completed a field-leading 35 laps, rotated through four sets of tyres—moving from medium to medium, then soft, before concluding on mediums—to post the session’s benchmark of 1:17.827.
The extended stints revealed a compelling dynamic. Norris managed the sharpest long-run pace, averaging 1:21.319 across 11 laps on softs. George Russell followed with a 1:21.442 average over nine soft laps, while Max Verstappen recorded 1:21.490 across seven laps on the same compound. Notably, championship leader Kimi Antonelli averaged 1:21.487 across 10 laps on the medium compound. Antonelli matching the soft-runners’ pace on a harder tyre looks ominous, with Mercedes placing both cars in the top four on raw pace as well.
Track Limits and Disruptions
The one-hour session was disrupted by both a red flag and a Safety Car deployment. Track limits also kept race control busy, with 18 lap times deleted over the course of the afternoon. Leclerc had the most deleted laps with four, while Norris, Carlos Sainz, and Valtteri Bottas each had two times struck from the record.
Practice 3 is scheduled for Saturday 31 October at 17:30 UTC. Conditions are expected to remain clear and dry, with ambient temperatures around 25°C and wind speeds near 8 km/h.
| Session | Weather | Temp | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 3 Practice 3 | Clear | 25°C | 0 mm / h |
| Qualifying Qualifying | Partly cloudy | 27°C | 0 mm / h |
| Grand Prix Grand Prix | Mostly clear | 26°C | 0 mm / h |
Timing data: OpenF1. Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Charts and results card by Slip Stream GP.
Quick answers
Who was fastest in Practice 2 at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix?
Charles Leclerc was fastest in Practice 2 at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix with a 1:17.827, 0.103s ahead of Lando Norris.
How close was the top three?
Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and George Russell were covered by 0.106s.
This report was written automatically with the help of AI (Google Gemini), from public timing data. Every number in the tables and charts comes straight from the data. Spotted a mistake? Tell me.
- Published by
- Pasindu Senavirathna
- Last updated