Overview
- Max Verstappen set the Mexico FP2 benchmark in 1:17.392, with Charles Leclerc second and Kimi Antonelli third as Oscar Piastri managed only 12th.
- Despite the headline lap, Red Bull cautioned that long‑run pace and grip were poor, with Verstappen and Helmut Marko warning the RB21 struggled on medium tyres.
- Leclerc had led a rookie‑heavy FP1, where Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad impressed with P6 while fulfilling the mandated practice outing.
- In Sepang, Pedro Acosta ended Friday fastest at 1:57.559 as two Hondas and two Yamahas joined the top five, while Ducati underperformed and no Aprilia rider earned direct Q2 entry.
- Yamaha’s V4 prototype returned with wildcard Augusto Fernandez in a conservative spec and trailed the field by roughly 2.5 seconds, as MotoGP introduced rules barring remounts after late-session crashes and curbing tyre‑heating in the pit lane.