Red Bull’s Formula One world championship leader Max Verstappen lapped a hefty half a second faster than Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton in free practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Friday. Verstappen set a best time of one minute 17.301 seconds in the afternoon at the high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with seven-times world champion Hamilton third quickest and 0.509 slower. Valtteri Bottas had led Hamilton in a Mercedes one-two in the morning but ended up 0.424 slower than Verstappen after lunch. Local hero Sergio Perez, who spun and hit the wall in first practice, was fourth in both sessions for Red Bull. Verstappen leads Hamilton, who was reprimanded after the first session for a track infringement, by 12 points with five races remaining. On a track that started dirty but then cleaned up and got faster, with the circuit not hosting a grand prix last year due to the …