Formula 1 extends practice session in Mexico: FP2 to last 90 minutes

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FP2 mexico extended due to tyre test pirelli
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  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

The second free practice session for the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix will last an additional 30 minutes. This session will be longer because the teams and drivers will participate in a Pirelli tyre test for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Usually, all three practice sessions (outside of a sprint weekend when there's just one) last 60 minutes. However, the second practice session in Mexico has been extended. Teams and drivers will first take part in a tyre test at Pirelli's request. In this free practice, the aim is to test the soft tyres for the 2025 season. Teams will be able to prepare for the Mexican GP weekend as usual outside of the requests from the tyre supplier.

This is not the first time a free practice session of a GP weekend has been dedicated to tyre testing. In 2022, the same thing happened in Austin before the US Grand Prix. Then, F1 teams were obliged to run on the 2023 prototype tyres in the one-and-a-half-hour session.

New Pirelli tyres for 2026 F1 season

In 2026, Pirelli will release a completely new tyre. This tyre was recently tested on the track for the first time, and according to Pirelli, that test—conducted with the Aston Martin team—went extremely well. New rules and regulations featuring major changes to the engine and chassis will also be introduced in 2026.

This article has been created in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen