F1Today's Notebook: Mexico Free Practice Two

At 2000 GMT Second Free Practice got under way, as the teams look to test the Pirelli Soft Tyre along with some high fuel runs. 2.5 seconds separates both the Soft and Medium compound. Thus, FP2 is pivotal regarding gaining data, as the weather is forecasted rain for tomorrow.

The session kicks with two crashes of different kinds. Session One Topper Max Verstappen had a soft crash that brought out the Red Flag and, unfortunately, ended the Dutchman's running. The incident itself was frustrating to watch, as he came out of the Baseball Stadium at low speed, the Toro Rosso lost it's rear and just hit the barrier, destroying the front of the car. The second incident involved Valtteri Bottas, the Williams managing record high-speed and soon as the Finn hit the brakes for Turn 1, they viciously rejected that idea, and the car ploughed off the track.

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Nico Rosberg was flying throughout the session, setting the fastest time of 1:21:531, a benchmark that Hamilton was not able to compete with - although on one of his flying laps he did have a bit of traffic. The Briton set Personal Bests in Sector 1; he could not compete with Rosberg's excellence in Sectors two and three, staying 0.430 off his team mate pace.

The ambient temperature meant that teams were struggling with getting heat into the Soft Tyre, specifically Vettel who was on a low-fuel stint. The German told his team that there was no point in pushing for the first lap, due to the tyres' coldness – hinting that the secret of unlocking real pace will lie between the second and third flying laps. Therefore, in tomorrow's Qualifying we could see teams doing two hot laps as they chase for pole position. One team who managed to nail the tyres was Red Bull Racing. The Milton Keynes Squad was able to continue setting faster times on their third laps – something that Mercedes could not do. Daniil Kvyat ending up in 2nd place, only 0.245 seconds of Rosberg's impressive time.

Written by Harry Shovelar

NOV 01 - MEXICO GRAND PRIX - FREE PRACTICE 2

	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	DIFFERENCE
1.	Nico Rosberg	___Escaped_link_69327717029bc___	1:21.531
2.	Daniil Kvyat	___Escaped_link_69327717029be___	1:21.776	+0.245
3.	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:21.868	+0.337
4.	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes GP	1:21.961	+0.430
5.	Sebastian Vettel	___Escaped_link_69327717029c4___	1:21.984	+0.453
6.	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:22.399	+0.868
7.	Valtteri Bottas	___Escaped_link_69327717029c8___	1:22.721	+1.190
8.	Fernando Alonso	___Escaped_link_69327717029ca___	1:22.993	+1.462
9.	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:23.109	+1.578
10.	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:23.289	+1.758
11.	Nico Hulkenberg	___Escaped_link_69327717029d0___	1:23.290	+1.759
12.	Pastor Maldonado	___Escaped_link_69327717029d2___	1:23.363	+1.832
13.	Carlos Sainz jr	___Escaped_link_69327717029d4___	1:23.364	+1.833
14.	Felipe Nasr	___Escaped_link_69327717029d6___	1:23.430	+1.899
15.	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:23.597	+2.066
16.	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:23.614	+2.083
17.	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:24.533	+3.002
18.	Alexander Rossi	___Escaped_link_69327717029de___	1:25.940	+4.409
19.	Will Stevens	Manor F1 Team	1:26.968	+5.437
20.	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	no time