What we learned from Friday at the Mexican Grand Prix

Max Verstappen came into the Mexican Grand Prix doubting his chances of winning the race for a third year in succession, but the Red Bull man appears to be Ferrari's biggest rival after Friday practice.

While Verstappen has taken to the top step of the podium at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the past two years, Lewis Hamilton has also had cause to celebrate as he has secured the world drivers' championship.

The scenario is possible once again this weekend, although Friday's action suggested that the pattern could well be broken.

Ferrari on fire again

Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel have shared the last five pole positions between them, four to one in the Monegasque's favour, and have come to Mexico with their rivals talking them up.

Those claims were backed up on-track as Sebastian Vettel set the pace over a single lap, with Ferrari likely holding plenty in hand for qualifying.

The signs were there from FP1 too, despite Hamilton topping the timesheets, given he did so by a tenth from Leclerc, whose lap was set on medium tyres compared to softs on the Mercedes.

Leclerc dropped off somewhat in FP2, however, running almost half a second adrift of Vettel in single-lap pace, while the 22-year-old's long-run pace was also the worst of the front-runners, albeit on a much longer stint on soft tyres compared to those who also ran the most delicate compound.

Leclerc also bookended his long-run efforts with spins, showing he is yet to get to grips with the circuit.

Middling Mercedes

If anything could have been read into Mercedes topping the FP1 timesheets, it was soon overwritten by the second session.

Both Hamilton and Bottas looked uncomfortable throughout and their early-season nimbleness through the corners seems to have abandoned them in Mexico City.

Altitude is likely a crucial factor in Mercedes' struggles in comparison to Red Bull and Ferrari. Indeed, the Silver Arrows struggled badly in the Styrian Mountains in Austria earlier this year.

Hamilton needs to finish at least third to stand a chance of securing a sixth world title. As it stands, Hamilton's own expectation that the battle will go on to COTA seems highly understandable.

If there is a shock in qualifying, however, Hamilton cannot be ruled out, having delivered an average lap time on long runs better than any of his rivals while using medium tyres.

Honda on a high

Verstappen's second-place ranking came at odds with the Dutchman's expectations, and the Honda PU further proved itself over at Toro Rosso, with Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat both getting into the top seven.

Gasly at one point was within a whisker of the Mercedes on medium tyres, giving Toro Rosso plenty of confidence as they head into a weekend where they will be looking to eat into Renault's advantage in fifth place in the standings.

The only issue for the Red Bull stable came in Alexander Albon's crash early in the second session. The front-right corner of his Red Bull was badly mangled, although penalty-incurring damage appears likely to have been avoided.

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