Leclerc tops second practice in Mexico City; Hamilton hit by technical issue

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was fastest in Friday's second practice session for the Mexico City Grand Prix, a round of the Formula 1 world championship in Mexico, and also topped the day's practice running. His best lap was 1:17.827. The weekend carries extra significance because Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli can become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history.

Rivals

Leclerc finished just over a tenth of a second ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris and Mercedes' George Russell. Norris and Russell were among 10 drivers who had sat out the opening session to make way for rookie drivers. Antonelli, Russell's team-mate, was fourth, a tenth behind. He needs only a ninth-place finish in Sunday's race to take the title.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who also missed first practice, was fifth, three tenths off the pace. His team-mate Isack Hadjar was sixth. McLaren's Oscar Piastri was 10th, more than half a second behind Norris, and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was 12th.

Hamilton's problem

Lewis Hamilton had been on course to go fastest around the middle of the session, but suffered what appeared to be an engine issue in the final sector of his push lap. He completed the lap, but his engineer then told him to pull over on track. He ended up 11th and missed out on information his rivals gathered through race simulations.

Verstappen and Lawson collide

Early in the session, Verstappen made contact with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson while trying to overtake him. Debris on the track brought out a red flag. Both drivers were summoned by the stewards after the session.

Qualifying takes place on Saturday and the race on Sunday.