Lewis Hamilton fastest in first practice for Formula 1's US GP
Lewis Hamilton beat Formula 1 world championship rival Sebastian Vettel to the fastest time in first practice for the United States Grand Prix, in mixed conditions
Mercedes F1 driver Hamilton clocked a 1m36.335s on the super-soft Pirelli compound tyres, 0.593 seconds clear of Ferrari's Vettel with Valtteri Bottas half a tenth further back in third.
Early morning rain subsided before the start of the session, but the majority of the field headed out on the intermediate tyres for installation laps.
Hamilton set the early pace on the green-walled rubber, with a 1m50.146s, but that was usurped by Max Verstappen when the Red Bull driver fitted a fresh set of the same rubber.
Verstappen's team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was caught out when he ran wide out of the final part of the high-speed esses and lost the car on the kerbs, before catching it and continuing.
Felipe Massa then went quickest on the intermediates, before Sebastian Vettel became the first driver to try dry tyres, running a set of super-softs and going quickest with a 1m45.960s lap.
After a lull in the running, Ricciardo broke the silence and posted a flurry of quick laps to break the 1m40-barrier, his best being a 1m39.366s on the super-softs.
Verstappen demoted him briefly, before Hamilton sets his first time on dry weather tyres with a 1m36.935s to move to the top of the pile.
Hamilton improved again with a 1m36.335s to cement his place at the top of the timesheet, with his time unchallenged for the remainder of the 90-minute session.
Verstappen, whose Red Bull team announced he would stay with the team until the end of 2020 ahead of the session, was fourth quickest, one second off the pace.
Stoffel Vandoorne's McLaren-Honda, running an upgraded engine, was fifth quickest on the ultra-softs, but his team-mate Fernando Alonso failed to set a timed lap and spent most of the session in the garage after the team discovered a hydraulic leak.
Massa ended up sixth in the leading Williams, with Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari seventh and Force India's Esteban Ocon eighth.
Sergio Perez's Force India and Carlos Sainz Jr, competing in his first session for Renault, rounded out the top 10.
Sainz was three quarters of a second clear of new team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, who will take grid penalties this weekend after Renault fitted an upgraded engine featuring 2018 development parts.
Brendon Hartley, who is set to start his debut grand prix from the back of the grid because of similar engine component changes, set the 14th fastest time, 2.932s off the pace.
The New Zealander was just under 1.2s quicker than Seal Gelael, who was running in the other Toro Rosso for this session in place of Daniil Kvyat.
Charles Leclerc replaced Pascal Wehrlein at Sauber for first practice, clocking the 19th quickest time, just under fourth tenths adrift of team-mate Marcus Ericsson.
Pos | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m36.335s | - | 18 |
2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m36.928s | 0.593s | 20 |
3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1m36.979s | 0.644s | 10 |
4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Renault | 1m37.339s | 1.004s | 21 |
5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren/Honda | 1m37.352s | 1.017s | 26 |
6 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 1m37.570s | 1.235s | 23 |
7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m37.598s | 1.263s | 20 |
8 | Esteban Ocon | Force India/Mercedes | 1m37.808s | 1.473s | 25 |
9 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1m37.861s | 1.526s | 20 |
10 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Renault | 1m38.093s | 1.758s | 24 |
11 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1m38.408s | 2.073s | 16 |
12 | Lance Stroll | Williams/Mercedes | 1m38.534s | 2.199s | 25 |
13 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1m38.904s | 2.569s | 19 |
14 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1m39.267s | 2.932s | 28 |
15 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 1m39.336s | 3.001s | 17 |
16 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 1m39.366s | 3.031s | 14 |
17 | Sean Gelael | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1m40.406s | 4.071s | 25 |
18 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m40.448s | 4.113s | 19 |
19 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m40.828s | 4.493s | 25 |
20 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Honda | - | - | 4 |
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