Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel topped the standings in the second practice at the Mexican Grand Prix, upstaging Mercedes duo Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

The four-time champion pipped Hamilton by 0.0004s in Mexico City, while Rosberg - who can tie up the title on Sunday should results go his way - finished 0.435s off his teammate.

Rosberg can afford to finish second in all the remaining races even if Hamilton wins, as he sits 26 points ahead with just 75 now left to play for over the remaining three races of the season.

It has been a difficult season for Ferrari thus far, but Vettel provided some hope heading into Saturday's qualifying session by pulling off a surprise result in the second practice session, while teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished the other side of the Mercedes duo in fourth.

Red Bull pair Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen finished in fourth and sixth respectively, meanwhile, with Nico Hulkenberg sandwiched in between.

Second practice results in full:

1. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
5. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
6. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India)
7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
8. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
9. Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso)
10. Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
11. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
12. Jenson Button (McLaren)
13. Felipe Massa (Williams)
14. Kevin Magnussen (Renault)
15. Sergio Perez (Force India)
16. Jolyon Palmer (Renault)
17. Pascal Wehrlein (Manor)
18. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
19. Felipe Nasr (Sauber)
20. Romain Grosjean (Haas)
21. Esteban Ocon (Manor)
22. Esteban Gutierrez (Haas)