GREATER NOIDA, India -- Sebastian Vettel drove 35 flawless laps in the second practice session Friday to edge Red Bull teammate Mark Webber for the quickest time ahead of Sundays Indian Grand Prix. Stitched Mariners Jerseys . Vettel recorded 1 minute, 25.722 seconds on soft tires for his best lap on the Buddh International Circuit, .289 faster than Webber and almost a second quicker than his time of 1:26.683 in the first session. Vettel, who has won both previous Indian GP races from pole, can win his fourth straight world title by placing fifth or better on Sunday. In-form Lotus driver Romain Grosjean was third fastest with a time of 1:26.220, ahead of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in 1:26.399. "Im hopeful of another solid day tomorrow which should give us another strong qualifying position if the evidence of today is anything to go by," Grosjean said. "Well do everything we can to take the fight to Red Bull." Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso overcame gearbox problems in the morning session to finish the day fifth fastest, ahead of Nico Rosbergs Mercedes and teammate Felipe Massa. The second session was marred by handling problems as most drivers came to terms with the smooth, warming track and the softer compound Pirelli tires. Kimi Raikkonen, who finished 17th in the morning session, appeared to be fighting a losing battle for control of his Lotus and had difficulties taking the tighter turns. He improved to eighth fastest, but looked far from comfortable ahead of Fridays qualifying. Pastor Maldonado had wheel problems again. The Williams driver who lost a wheel in practice for this months Japanese GP was forced to park at the entrance to pit lane Friday when he lost a wheel nut and eventually punctured his front right tire after 23 laps of the second session. Weather at the track was hot and dry, with similar conditions forecast for Sunday. "Its hard to say how we will go tomorrow and Sunday, but hopefully we have the pace and can control the race," Webber said. "The car is very consistent, but we need to work on the tires and make sure we get the most out of them." Tire supplier Pirelli has dropped the more durable hard compound tires for the Indian surface, instead opting for soft and medium options. While the soft tires proved to be considerably faster, drivers complained of a lack of durability. "The soft tire is not lasting so long here, but its Friday and the track is still rubbering in," Vettel said. "Its normally improving for Saturday, plus we havent used this compound for a long time, so tomorrow it should be better." Alonso had a frustrating start to the first practice, completing only six laps before being forced into the pits with a gearbox issue and ending the morning with the 12th-fastest time. Ferrari repaired the problem in time for the second session, without the need to replace the gearbox. Seattle Mariners Shirts . -- LeGarrette Blount made one last big splash into a soggy end zone. Cheap Mariners Jerseys .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ . The 6-foot-10 centre who won an NBA title with the Miami Heat was voted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday, adding that honour to becoming a board member at his alma mater.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Miami Heat are struggling on this current road trip and hope success is on the way when they invade Arizona Tuesday night to take on the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Heat have lost four in a row and dropped road bouts in Milwaukee and Memphis to start a five-game sojourn. They are winless in three straight on the road and suffered a 103-87 loss to the Grizzlies Sunday despite Dwyane Wades 25 points on 11-of-20 shooting. Josh McRoberts (14), Luol Deng (13), Chris Bosh (12) and Mario Chalmers (12) were other Heat players to score in double figures. Miami made 48.8 percent from the field, but the Grizzlies were much better at 58.9 percent. Memphis used an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter for a 90-79 lead. I thought we fought hard, we just didnt have enough to win it, Wade said. Wade has scored 20 or more points in each of the last nine games, his longest streak since reaching that mark from Feb. 23-March 17, 2013. Wade has shot at least 50 percent from the field in 11 consecutive games. Miami still has Denver and Utah to visit on this trip and is 5-5 away from home. In injury news for the Heat, Deng (hand) and guard Norris Cole (finger) are probable against the Suns. The Suns are back home for two straight games versus Miami and Detroit, and suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Clippers Monday night in the finale of a three-game road trip (1-2). Clippers star forward Blake Griffin hit the game-winning 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer and finished with a season-high 45 points. Mariners Jerseys 2019. Suns guard Eric Bledsoe, who spent the first three seasons of his career with the Clippers and was held without a field goal against them last month, totaled 27 points, a career-high 16 assists and 11 rebounds in a losing effort. We thought we were going to win it, Phoenix head coach Jeff Hornacek said. It was so close yet so far away. I thought no way was Blake going to make it. Bledsoe also swatted Clippers guard Chris Pauls would-be game-winner at the end of regulation into the second row. He has scored 20-plus points three times in the last four games. Markieff Morris had 21 points, Goran Dragic scored 17 and Gerald Green added 15 off the bench for the Suns, losers in two straight and four of the last six games. The Clippers scored 31 points on 17 Phoenix turnovers. The Suns fell short of making 50 percent from the field (48.4) and are unbeaten in the previous 26 games when reaching that mark. Phoenix is 6-4 at home and has five players averaging at least 14 points (Bledsoe, Dragic, Isaiah Thomas, Morris, Green). Thomas has been bothered by a an ankle bruise and has missed seven straight games. He is questionable Tuesday. The Suns and Heat will play the first of two meetings this season and are scheduled to tangle again March 2 in south Florida. Miami took both matchups with Phoenix last season and has won eight in a row and 11 of the past 12 contests in this series. Miami is unbeaten in the last six visits to the Copper State. ' ' '