Max Verstappen topped second practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix as championship leader Oscar Piastri's struggles continued as he was only 12th.

Verstappen was one of nine drivers to skip first practice as most teams ran rookie drivers to fulfil regulations, but he was immediately on the pace and beat Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by 0.153s.

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli overcame an early issue and was third ahead of Lando Norris, who was 0.251s behind pace-setter Verstappen.

Piastri was the only title protagonist to run in first practice but his extra track time did not turn into strong pace as he finished 0.840s off the Dutchman.

The result of the session was in line with the last four rounds where Verstappen has made big inroads in the title race to trail Piastri by 40 points with five r

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