MEXICO CITY (AP) Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel jumped ahead of the Mercedes championship duel, posting the fastest time of Friday's practice sessions at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Ferrari has had a frustrating season with no victories in a year the team hoped to be a bigger challenge to Mercedes. But Vettel sprung a surprise with his lap of 1 minute, 19.794 seconds in the second practice at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. He was just 0.004 seconds quicker than Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes' Nico Rosberg, who leads Hamilton by 26 points for the season championship, was third in the afternoon.
Rosberg dominated the Mexico City race last season, taking pole position and an easy victory. A win Sunday would further diminish Hamilton's catching him for the title so late in the season.
