United States – Free Practice 2: Hamilton in the Rhythm, Vettel in the Gravel Behind Verstappen

With a track at 30°C and the sun shining brightly in the Texan sky as the second session approaches, one can say that the conditions are perfect for the drivers to fully express themselves.

With very little running this morning and no recorded time, Fernando Alonso is the second to take to the track—behind Daniil Kvyat—after completing a starting procedure. In contrast, Sebastian Vettel, out of his car, takes the time to observe the start of the session.

Calm in his Toro Rosso, Kvyat records his first time at 1:39.733, while Grosjean, spinning in Turn 11, causes a yellow flag in sector 2. Alonso concludes with the fastest lap at 1:39.023, a time quickly threatened by Carlos Sainz, but the Spaniard has to abort his attempt. Kevin Magnussen is facing the wrong way in the runoff area of Turn 19 after entering there in a total loss of control.

K-Mag arrives at the corner backwards
SSF1: https://t.co/BNikV9dGaY
Blog: https://t.co/W4Jk8YOv8D #SkyF1 #USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/OEVJo64izN

— Sky Sports F1 🏎 (@SkySportsF1) 20 octobre 2017

Kimi Räikkönen has come to dislodge fellow Finn Valtteri Bottas from first place by 0.309, while Lewis Hamilton, forced to widen in T19, only manages the 3rd fastest time. Daniel Ricciardo improves Räikkönen’s mark, but Verstappen quickly displaces him to achieve the fastest time of the day, which Ricciardo retrieves again with a 1:36.116. The Australian is on super-softs while his teammate is on softs.

After patiently waiting, Vettel returns to the track and attacks the clock, until he loses control of his Ferrari at the entrance to T19. The German seems to have lost control by braking with the right front wheel on the curb.

« OK, I think you’ve seen everything » he says before returning to his stand.

Trouble for VET at Turn 19 as he goes for a long slide on the gravel 😧#USGP 🇺🇸 #FP2 #F1 pic.twitter.com/YIIVAVp8XS

— Formula 1 (@F1) 20 octobre 2017

As the first third of the session draws to a close, Ricciardo still holds the fastest time ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton. In the top 10 are Räikkönen, Bottas, Perez, Ocon, Vandoorne, Alonso, and Kvyat. Further down, Sainz, Hülkenberg, Massa, Grosjean, Stroll, Hartley, Ericsson, Wehrlein, and Magnussen complete the timesheet. Sebastian Vettel still has no reference time for these free practice 2 sessions.

Unsuitable this morning, the ultra-soft tires prove their usefulness this afternoon. Without difficulty, Bottas secures the fastest time with a 1:35.596 thanks to the pink tires. On the lookout, Hamilton won’t let it go and beats the Finn’s time by 0.928. It’s a 1:34.668 for the Briton as Bottas gets closer by 611 thousandths.

The Pink Panther Ocon jumps to 5th place despite a blockage at the entrance of T15, but is quickly pushed out of the top 5 by Massa and then Alonso. The Spaniard moves into 4th place before Räikkönen’s sole Ferrari makes an appearance in the top 3 with a gap of 846 milliseconds compared to Hamilton’s benchmark time.

Very confident on ultra-soft tires, Verstappen is generous with the curbs in the sequence of sector 1 and can exploit the full width of the track throughout his lap, which is concluded in 1:35.065. The Dutchman places 2nd between the Mercedes.

After 45 minutes of the session, Sebastian Vettel returned to the track, determined to fight. The German disrupted the hierarchy and placed 3rd, 524 thousandths behind his championship rival.

INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (HALFWAY THROUGH FP2)#USGP #FP2 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Q8fmPFQTQb

— Formula 1 (@F1) 20 octobre 2017

Far behind, Renault lets Carlos Sainz put on the ultra-soft tires. He sets the 11th fastest time of the session and places himself behind the Force India cars of Pérez and Ocon. It’s now time for race simulation stints, in two laps Ocon is 6.4 seconds off Hamilton’s time, about 4 seconds slower than his own time. Pérez is just slightly slower, also on ultra-soft tires.

At Williams, there is no question of race simulation at the moment, the engine cover of Stroll’s FW40 is removed, and engineers are bustling around the car. On track, Felipe Massa seems to be in the same time window as the Force India drivers, while being slightly slower.

After Carlos Sainz, Renault lets Nico Hülkenberg go out on ultra-softs to chase the clock. The German moves up to 12th place, just 5 thousandths behind his teammate. Could this gap be indicative of an interesting duel between the two new teammates?

As the production focuses on Sergio Pérez’s Force India, it becomes clear that something is off. The engine sound seems… different. Well-informed, Sky Sports reports that it is an experimental microphone linked to the onboard camera placed above the driver.

Confirmation that Force India are running with an experimental microphone which explains the engine noise #SkyF1 #F1 pic.twitter.com/AL0kcrQhOs

— Sky Sports F1 🏎 (@SkySportsF1) 20 octobre 2017

The final ranking at the end of the session:

INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP2)

Another great session for @LewisHamilton, who posts the fastest ever F1 lap at @COTA ⏱️#USGP #FP2 pic.twitter.com/El9jTPPISp

— Formula 1 (@F1) 20 octobre 2017