Max Verstappen put Red Bull on top during Free Practice 2 for the Mexico City Grand Prix, but he made it clear right after that the team has some real hurdles to clear for the weekend. With the altitude playing tricks on everyone, the session showed how tricky tire wear can get here. Verstappen’s comments cut through the post-session buzz, pointing out that while the car felt quick in short bursts, sustaining that over a race distance looked tougher for Red Bull compared to rivals like Ferrari.
Let’s take a deeper look at what really went down –
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Session Overview and Key Timings
Verstappen clocked in at 1 minute 17.999 seconds on soft tires to take P1, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by just 0.112 seconds while Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli surprised with third place, 0.298 seconds off the pace. The top five rounded out with Lando Norris in the McLaren and Carlos Sainz for Ferrari, all within half a second. Conditions were warm and sunny, with track temperatures hitting 45 degrees Celsius, which quickly chewed through the Pirelli compounds.
Teams focused on medium and hard tire runs in the second half, simulating qualifying and race setups. Interruptions came from light rain midway, forcing a brief red flag, but the session wrapped without major incidents. Verstappen noted the balance felt decent early on, but as laps piled up, the rear end started to slide more than he liked
What about Verstappen’s solo performance?
Starting with a strong qualifying sim on fresh softs, Verstappen nailed the first sector with precise cornering through the stadium section, building a gap on the straights thanks to Red Bull’s straight-line speed. His long-run stint on mediums saw him complete 18 laps, but lap times crept up by over a second as grip faded, averaging 1:20.5s compared to Leclerc’s steadier 1:19.8s average. The Dutch driver pushed hard in traffic, overtaking slower cars cleanly, but mentioned oversteer in the esses that required constant corrections.
Post-session, he praised the team’s setup tweaks from FP1, which improved front-end bite, yet admitted the altitude’s thin air was making engine mapping trickier than expected. This puts pressure on the engineers overnight to dial in more rear stability without sacrificing top speed.
Verstappen was blunt about the team’s vulnerabilities, saying Red Bull needs to be “ahead constantly now” with only a few races left in the season. The RB20 car’s high-downforce setup worked well in low-speed corners like the hairpin, but tire degradation hit harder on the undulating back straight where curbs upset the balance. Compared to Ferrari, which managed consistent pace with balanced wear, Red Bull lost time in sector two due to understeer pushing wide.
Verstappen estimated a two-tenths deficit per lap in race trim, which could cost positions if not addressed. The team ran multiple sensor pods to gather data on suspension loads, aiming to optimize the floor and diffuser for better airflow at altitude. This isn’t new for Red Bull here; last year they struggled similarly, but Verstappen’s driving masked some of it.
What about the nearest rivals?
Leclerc kept Ferrari competitive, his long run on hards showing minimal drop-off and good traction out of the final corner. The SF-25 benefited from recent upgrades, holding line through the twisty middle sector where McLaren faltered slightly. Antonelli’s debutante pace for Mercedes turned heads, nabbing third with clean laps and feedback on the W16’s front wing adjustments for better turn-in. Norris pushed McLaren to fourth but noted vibrations on the straights, while Sainz rounded out the top five, focusing on brake cooling data. Haas and Alpine lagged in the midfield, with both teams experimenting with wing angles to combat the track’s dirty air effects. Overall, the session painted a tight field, with under 0.8 seconds covering the top ten.
With Verstappen’s concerns front and center, Red Bull faces a crunch to refine the setup before Saturday’s qualifying. If the long-run gap holds, Ferrari could challenge for pole and pull away in the race, especially with Leclerc’s consistency on worn tires. Antonelli’s strong showing boosts Mercedes’ morale, potentially setting up a podium fight if the car holds together. For the championship, Verstappen’s lead sits at 62 points over Leclerc, but pace issues could tighten that. Teams will pore over telemetry tonight, tweaking diffs and ride heights to balance speed and durability. Fans tuning in tomorrow can expect a lively Q1 with traffic management key on this short lap.
