Hamilton leads US GP FP2 as rain limits running
Lewis Hamilton needed just one flying lap to finish at the top of the timesheets in the second Formula 1 practice session for this weekend's United States Grand Prix on Friday afternoon, gapping the field by over a second.
After finishing 1.3 seconds clear of the pack in FP1, Hamilton once again eased to top spot in the second 90-minute practice session at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, doing so with his sole flying lap of the session.
Lewis Hamilton needed just one flying lap to finish at the top of the timesheets in the second Formula 1 practice session for this weekend's United States Grand Prix on Friday afternoon, gapping the field by over a second.
After finishing 1.3 seconds clear of the pack in FP1, Hamilton once again eased to top spot in the second 90-minute practice session at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, doing so with his sole flying lap of the session.
Heavy rain in the lead-up to the start of FP2 threatened to wash out the session completely, with no drivers taking to the track until more than 45 minutes had passed. Conditions ultimately dried enough for intermediate tyres to be used through the closing stages of FP2.
Despite telling his engineer he saw little value in going out on-track, Hamilton managed to turn in a best lap of 1m48.716s to finish 1.012 seconds clear at the head of the field, before immediately returning to the pits.
Pierre Gasly completed 10 laps en route to second place for Toro Rosso as he tried in vain to beat Hamilton's benchmark, while Max Verstappen took third place for Red Bull.
Fernando Alonso mirrored Hamilton's approach to FP2, completing a total of three laps en route to fourth in the final timesheets ahead of Renault's Nico Hulkenberg. Brendon Hartley wound up sixth for Toro Rosso, completing a session-high 19 laps after missing FP1 earlier in the day.
Marcus Ericsson took seventh for Sauber ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne, while the Ferrari duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10. Vettel finished five seconds down on title rival Hamilton, with the Ferrari driver at risk of falling out of championship contention on Sunday.
Charles Leclerc finished 11th for Sauber ahead of Williams' Lance Stroll, with Force India drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon taking 13th and 14th. Sergey Sirotkin was the slowest driver to complete a flying lap in 15th as Carlos Sainz Jr., Daniel Ricciardo, Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas all opted against setting a lap time.
Running continues at COTA on Saturday with Free Practice 3 from 1pm local time (7pm BST).
