Mexico (AFP)

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) for the first and Sebastien Vettel (Ferrari) for the second split the best times in the two free practice sessions on Friday for the F1 GP of Mexico on the Rodriguez Brothers circuit.

Both skated under a threatening sky but on a dry track, they did not really clear a hierarchy in view of qualifying on Saturday and GP Sunday, especially as the Dutchman Max Verstappen - winner in Mexico in 2017 and 2018-- was very close to Mercedes and Ferrari.

He and Vettel were the only two drivers to shoot under the minute and 17 seconds in the second session, with a 115 / 1000th advantage for the German.

Leclerc's Ferrari and Bottas and Hamilton's Mercedes stayed between 1:18 and 1:17 with Toro Rosso from Russia's Daniil Kvyat.

Verstappen's teammate, Alexander Albon of Thailand, came out in the second session, damaging his car and could not get back on track.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner, however, has been cautious about his team's prospects of repeating his successes over the last two years.

"I think for now, the Ferrari are the reference to beat in terms of pure speed on a lap and qualifications are very important here because it is difficult to follow other cars closely," he said.

The Rodriguez Brothers circuit is the highest of the F1 season at more than 2,200 meters above sea level and the low density of the atmosphere profoundly modifies the aerodynamic characteristics of cars.

- 6th title for Hamilton? -

Mercedes has already secured the last GP of Japan constructors title for 2019 but Lewis Hamilton could claim him from Sunday the title driver, which would be his sixth.

He must score in Mexico 14 points more than Valtteri Bottas on which he currently has 64 points ahead.

The Mercedes drivers are the only two who can still claim to be crowned this year but Bottas' task seems almost insurmountable even if he felt on the sidelines of the GP that "incredible things can always happen".

Behind them, the fight is intense between Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel who stand in 9 points and who can still claim the 3rd step of the final podium of the season.

The Toro Rosso Kvyat but also the French Pierre Gasly (7th) were in shape during the first two free practice sessions. The sister team of Red Bull can still hope to overtake Renault in the manufacturers' standings for 5th place behind McLaren, firmly in 4th place.

Due to the decommissioning of the two French cars after the GP of Japan for a system of automatic distribution of the braking deemed non-compliant, Toro Rosso is now only 6 points Renault while Racing Point is it to 10 points.

Suffice to say that the fight is intense between these three teams and not only on the track as shown by the claim against Renault that was filed by Racing Point.

The diamond team has decided not to appeal, claiming that its system does not violate the technical regulations of F1, even though the International Automobile Federation (FIA) has found that it violates the rules on piloting.

The 3rd free practice session is scheduled for Saturday at 10:00 local time (15:00 GMT) and qualifications from 13:00 (18:00 GMT)

© 2019 AFP