Vettel edges Hamilton by 0.004s in FP2 in Mexico

© XPB 

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time of FP2 for the Mexican Grand Prix as Ferrari showed competitive pace on Friday afternoon.

Having been first to set his time on supersoft tyres, Vettel set the pace with a 1:19.790, having completed one slow timed lap before going for a fast lap. Tyre preparation was a key part of FP2 and Lewis Hamilton needed two timed laps to get within 0.018s of Vettel's time. A third attempt at a flying lap saw Hamilton close the gap even further but he ended up just 0.004 slower than the Ferrari.

Hamilton's team-mate Nico Rosberg - who can win the title this weekend - was third quickest but 0.4s further back from the leading pair. Both Mercedes drivers also struggled under braking for Turn 1 early in the session, with Hamilton running very deep and taking to the grass after locking up heavily.

Kimi Raikkonen ended the session in fourth place, 0.469s adrift of team-mate Vettel, and more encouragingly for Ferrari 0.2s clear of Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull. The two Red Bulls were even split by Nico Hulkenberg's Force India, which was an impressive feat as both Force Indias set their best times on soft tyres compared to supersofts for the rest of the field.

Valtteri Bottas in eighth place was only 0.010s slower than Max Verstappen, while Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso ensured there were seven different teams represented in the top ten, although both were over a second slower than Vettel.

Amid cool conditions - air temperature was just 16C and track temperature didn't climb above 35C - a number of drivers complained of a lack of grip, with both Sergio Perez and Felipe Nasr spinning at Turn 6. Perez ended a difficult session 15th - nine places behind his team-mate - but will have been encouraged by Hulkenberg's pace.

Haas endured a tough afternoon session, with Romain Grosjean confined to the garage with an electrical issue for the first hour of running. Grosjean emerged to eventually complete 14 laps with a best time of 1:22.105, leaving him only ahead of Esteban Ocon's Manor and 22nd-placed Haas team-mate Esteban Gutierrez.

While Ocon was 21st, Manor team-mate Pascal Wehrlein had a strong afternoon as he ended up 17th quickest ahead of both Saubers and Haas drivers.

Grosjean wasn't the only driver with reliability issues, as Daniil Kvyat also hit trouble at the end of the session, with the Russian coming to a halt on the pit lane entry after the chequered flag and having to walk back to the pits.

Traffic was also a problem during the long runs in the second half of the session, with Vettel angrily bemoaning being stuck behind Alonso's McLaren before running wide himself at Turn 12.

Chris Medland's 2016 Mexican Grand Prix preview

TECHNICAL SNAPSHOT: Austin

Scene at the United States Grand Prix

2017 driver line-ups so far

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

PosDriverTeamTimeLaps
01Sebastian VettelFerrari1:19.79047
02Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:19.79437
03Nico RosbergMercedes1:20.22546
04Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1:20.25937
05Daniel RicciardoRed Bull1:20.44843
06Nico HulkenbergForce India1:20.57443
07Max VerstappenRed Bull1:20.61942
08Valtteri BottasWilliams1:20.62941
09Carlos SainzToro Rosso1:20.97446
10Fernando AlonsoMcLaren1:21.00325
11Daniil KvyatToro Rosso1:21.19339
12Jenson ButtonMcLaren1:21.19839
13Felipe MassaWilliams1:21.32645
14Kevin MagnussenRenault1:21.44239
15Sergio PerezForce India1:21.57941
16Jolyon PalmerRenault1:21.78544
17Pascal WehrleinManor1:21.98042
18Marcus EricssonSauber1:21.99742
19Felipe NasrSauber1:22.03743
20Romain GrosjeanHaas1:22.10514
21Esteban OconManor1:22.29844
22Esteban GutierrezHaas1:22.40833