Sergio Pérez went fastest in the second free practice session at the 2021 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin. Lando Norris was in second position and Lewis Hamilton in third position at the end of the session.
Hamilton recorded the fastest lap time of the session which was deleted as he exceeded track limits. Max Verstappen finished in eighth position as he aborted his flying lap due to traffic.
The sixty-minute long second free practice session started under hot conditions with air temperatures at 29 degrees C and track temperatures at 34 degrees C.
The track temperatures was almost ten degrees hotter than the morning session as it continued to ramp up during the session. This led to slower lap times in this session.
The Pirelli tyre choice at this race is the white-striped hard compound tyres (C2), yellow-striped medium compound tyres (C3), and red-striped soft compound tyres (C4).
Most of the drivers were out on the track on the medium compound tyres at the start of the session. Hamilton and Verstappen had a brief moment as the Briton overtook Verstappen on a cool down lap.
Valtteri Bottas initially went to the top of the time charts before being displaced by Pérez.
Bottas, George Russell and Sebastian Vettel will take grid penalties in the race as they take on new power unit components.
The drivers started the qualification runs on the soft compound tyres and Hamilton’s fastest lap time of 1m34.842s was deleted and Pérez went to the top of the time charts with a lap of 1m34.946s.
Norris on his flying lap slotted into second position, 0.257 seconds slower than Pérez. Hamilton went third fastest on his second flying lap. But Verstappen’s flying lap was ruined due to traffic and he aborted the lap with angry words with the pit wall.
The session ended with Fernando Alonso spinning off the track and brushing the barriers. The sweltering heat during the session and its effect on tyre degradation and performance will play a significant role in the qualification and race.
2021 United States GP FP2 Results:
| Pos | No | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 11 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Red Bull Racing | 1:34.946 | 24 | |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1:35.203 | +0.257s | 20 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1:35.310 | +0.364s | 22 |
| 4 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1:35.360 | +0.414s | 24 |
| 5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1:35.457 | +0.511s | 21 |
| 6 | 18 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1:35.561 | +0.615s | 25 |
| 7 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:35.572 | +0.626s | 23 |
| 8 | 33 | Max Verstappen | NED | Red Bull Racing | 1:35.824 | +0.878s | 23 |
| 9 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:35.919 | +0.973s | 24 |
| 10 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ITA | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:36.138 | +1.192s | 26 |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Alpine F1 Team | 1:36.158 | +1.212s | 23 |
| 12 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:36.242 | +1.296s | 25 |
| 13 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Alpine F1 Team | 1:36.376 | +1.430s | 18 |
| 14 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | FIN | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:36.558 | +1.612s | 25 |
| 15 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | GER | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1:36.718 | +1.772s | 30 |
| 16 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | JAP | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:36.983 | +2.037s | 24 |
| 17 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | GER | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1:37.041 | +2.095s | 24 |
| 18 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | Williams Racing | 1:37.254 | +2.308s | 26 |
| 19 | 63 | George Russell | GBR | Williams Racing | 1:37.490 | +2.544s | 21 |
| 20 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | RAF | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1:38.026 | +3.080s | 23 |