Lewis Hamilton spins as Daniel Ricciardo top in Mexican Grand Prix practice two
Lewis Hamilton survived a spin as Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo led the way in second practice for the Mexican Grand Prix.
Hamilton heads into Sunday's race in Mexico City well aware that a fifth-place finish will be enough to seal his fourth world title.
The 32-year-old Englishman has been in scintillating form of late - winning five of the six races since the summer break - en route to establishing a 66-point lead over Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton needs just nine more to clinch the title on Sunday, and he was second in both practice sessions at a sun-blazed Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.
Sky Bet make Hamilton the 6/4 favourite to win the Mexican Grand Prix.
Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas set the pace on Friday morning, but it was Ricciardo who topped the time sheets in the day's second running.
Ricciardo posted a best lap of one minute and 17.801 seconds to finish 0.131 secs clear of Hamilton with Max Verstappen third in the sister Red Bull.
Sebastian Vettel, who must finish in the top two to stand any chance of taking the championship fight on to Brazil, was fourth in the order, one quarter of a second slower than Ricciardo.
Hamilton has been largely faultless in his pursuit of a fourth title - one which would see him join an elite band of drivers to have won the championship on more than three occasions - but he made a rare error in the opening moments of second practice.
The Mercedes driver lost control of his car on the exit of Turn 11 before sliding into a spin. Hamilton destroyed his set of tyres - which may affect his race strategy on Sunday - but crucially avoided any contact with the barriers, and he gingerly made his way back to the pits.
There was drama for Vettel, too, after his fire extinguisher burst in the back of his Ferrari. A messy race suit aside, there was not any long-lasting damage for the German and his pace, and indeed that of Red Bull, suggests Hamilton will not have it all his own way in the battle for a fourth straight pole tomorrow.
Kimi Raikkonen finished fifth in the order for Ferrari, while Bottas - so dominant in the opening session - was sixth, half-a-second down on Ricciardo.
Fernando Alonso, who will be thrown to the back of the grid with a 20-place penalty after further Honda engine woes, finished seventh ahead of home favourite Sergio Perez. Renault's Nico Hulkenberg posted the ninth best time as Force India's Esteban Ocon rounded out the top 10.
Practice Two timesheet
- Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:17.801
- Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.131
- Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.163
- Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +0.250
- Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +0.341
- Valtteri Bottas Mercedes +0.498
- Fernando Alonso McLaren +0.707
- Sergio Perez Force India +0.927
- Nico Hulkenberg Renault +0.974
- Esteban Ocon Force India +1.021
- Carlos Sainz Renault +1.259
- Felipe Massa Williams +1.405
- Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso +1.622
- Lance Stroll Williams +1.723
- Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren +2.043
- Pascal Wehrlein Sauber +2.505
- Kevin Magnussen Haas +2.517
- Marcus Ericsson Sauber +2.561
- Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso+ 3.944
- Romain Grosjean Haas +7.725