Max Verstappen edges Lewis Hamilton in final practice for Mexico Grand Prix

World champion Lewis Hamilton trailed Red Bull driver Max Verstappen in final practice for the Mexican Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who is 26 points adrift of his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg with only three rounds remaining, was just 0.094 seconds slower than Verstappen at a sun-blazed Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Saturday morning.

Rosberg, who knows he can afford to finish second at two of the final rounds, and third on one occasion to clinch his maiden championship, was a distant fourth with Daniel Ricciardo third in the order.

Hamilton, 31, has been comfortably faster than Rosberg all weekend here, and despite Verstappen leading the way with a lap time of one minute and 19.173, Hamilton will head into qualifying later on Saturday as the favourite to claim his second pole position in seven days.

Rosberg, a comfortable winner here last year, was more than seven tenths of a second slower than Hamilton in first practice, and nearly half a second adrift of his championship rival on Friday afternoon.

The margin this morning was nearer four tenths, but Hamilton, who has claimed he is relishing the challenge of overhauling his Mercedes team-mate in the title race to claim an unlikely fourth world championship, will be pleased by his apparent advantage here.

Sebastian Vettel, who was fastest yesterday, was only sixth this morning with his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen seventh.

Jenson Button was 15th, while British rookie Jolyon Palmer, who is fighting to extend his stay at Renault into a second season, was 14th in the order, four places ahead of his team-mate Kevin Magnussen.