Mexican Grand Prix 2026: Leclerc Sets the Pace in FP2

Charles Leclerc continued to showcase Ferrari's strong form by topping the timesheets in the second practice session at the Mexican Grand Prix. His best lap of 1:17.827 was enough to keep McLaren's Lando Norris and Mercedes' George Russell at bay, with Norris only 0.103 seconds behind.

As for the rest of the field, Max Verstappen placed his Red Bull fifth, trailing by 0.311 seconds, while his teammate Isack Hadjar took sixth. Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad and Alpine's Pierre Gasly followed in seventh and eighth, respectively. Oscar Piastri rounded out the top ten for McLaren.

The session wasn't without its drama, as Max Verstappen found himself in a bit of a tangle with Liam Lawson. In a moment of visible frustration, Verstappen veered off track in the stadium section, rejoining to push Lawson aside, resulting in contact and debris scattering the circuit. This incident led to a red flag, halting proceedings temporarily.

Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari came to a halt on track due to technical issues, cutting his session short. Gabriel Bortoleto also faced challenges, with his Audi appearing late in the session due to problems, ultimately placing last.

Here's a full rundown of the FP2 results:

| | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **Pos** | **Driver** | **Team** | **Best** | **Diff** | | 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:17.827 | | | 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:17.930 | 0.103 | | 3 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:17.933 | 0.106 | | 4 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:18.044 | 0.217 | | 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:18.138 | 0.311 | | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 1:18.237 | 0.41 | | 7 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:18.389 | 0.562 | | 8 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:18.407 | 0.58 | | 9 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:18.455 | 0.628 | | 10 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:18.469 | 0.642 |

The session sets an intriguing stage for the rest of the weekend, with Leclerc and Ferrari looking strong, but the competitive field is not far behind.