His Mercedes rivals had certainly dominated the late morning session.

Verstappen set the record straight in the afternoon.

His time of 1 min 17 sec 301/1000 (the fastest of the day) places him 424/1000 ahead of his closest pursuer, the Finnish Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes).

A considerable gap on the short track of the Rodriguez Brothers circuit (4,304 km)!

Next, in the usual top quartet, Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) at 509/1000 and Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) at 570/1000.

The "best of the rest", the Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari), is relegated to 1 sec 017/1000 behind the leader.

British driver Lewis Hamilton Verstappen, driving his Mercedes, during the 2nd free practice session of the Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix, November 5, 2021 at the Rodríguez Brothers circuit in Mexico PEDRO PARDO AFP

This might be expected given Red Bull's recent results in Mexico City (victories for Verstappen in 2017 and 2018, pole for Daniel Ricciardo in 2018, best qualifying time for Verstappen in 2019 before a penalty on the starting grid).

An advantage which can be explained by the altitude (the circuit is perched at 2200 meters).

In thin air, the Honda engine has so far proven to perform better than the Mercedes power unit, which tends to overheat.

Under these conditions too, the downforce is less.

But the Red Bull has more than its competitor.

In the title race, all of that could do business for Verstappen, who is twelve points ahead of Hamilton with five races to go.

Team instructions

But what would Red Bull do if Pérez were in the lead and the Dutchman second before the checkered flag on Sunday - even if that seems unlikely at the moment?

Would we let the very popular Mexican win in front of his audience or would we ask him to make way for his leader?

Their boss Christian Horner "does not exclude" team instructions.

"There are several scenarios. It will depend on the position of our opponents," he replied at a press conference on Friday.

The boss of the Red Bull team, the Briton Christian Horner, on October 22, 2021 at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix on the Circuit of the Americas in Austin (Texas) Jim WATSON AFP / Archives

"We would prefer, if Checo were in this situation, that he win at home because there is no better for a driver. But the team must have an eye on the two championships (drivers and manufacturers, note) and conscience of what's at stake. "

Among the manufacturers, precisely, it is Mercedes which has an advantage of 23 points.

Also to be remembered from the day, a series of runs without consequence at turns 1 and 12, the most tricky of a particularly dusty track and therefore lacking grip.

The Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) will start at the back of the grid on Sunday for having changed parts of their engine beyond the number authorized per season.

Free practice 3 is scheduled at 11 a.m. local (6 p.m. French / 5 p.m. GMT) on Saturday, before qualifying at 2 p.m. (9 p.m. / 8 p.m.).

Canceled last year due to a pandemic, the Mexican GP is making a sold-out return - as before the Covid-19 -, with 250,000 spectators expected over three days, 130,000 on Sunday.

© 2021 AFP