United States – Free Practice 1: Hamilton ahead of Vettel at the start of the American weekend

She wasn’t expected this morning, but the rain came to disrupt the plans of the teams and drivers by soaking the American track. Other than the rain, the important news is Max Verstappen’s contract renewal, extending his adventure with Red Bull by 3 years.

Dutch power, until 2020! 🇳🇱🦁 @Max33Verstappen extends his contract with the Team.
More 👉 https://t.co/Xo1GsT7OQK #givesyouwings #F1 pic.twitter.com/qNnz1IrDE5

— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) 20 octobre 2017

In Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso, we find Sean Gelael this morning who is participating in the session alongside Brendon Hartley. The New Zealander is testing the intermediate tire prototypes in his installation lap. Another replacement for this free practice 1 session, the Monegasque Charles Leclerc is in Pascal Wehrlein’s Sauber for this session.

Reflecting Kimi Räikkönen’s complaints on his radio, we can see that the back straight is very bumpy even though resurfacing has been done by the organization. During an onboard lap with Daniel Ricciardo, we can observe the precarious grip at the start of the session.

Back on track for another flying lap, Daniel Ricciardo pulls off a sharp turn at the exit of T9 and manages to keep his car on track. Sean Gelael also experiences a slight scare while accelerating out of turn 15, losing control of his car but not hitting the barriers, allowing Daniil Kvyat to breathe a sigh of relief.

RIC goes for a spin on the exit of Turn 9 🔄#USGP 🇺🇸 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/mnhVsJn1aN

— Formula 1 (@F1) 20 octobre 2017

Esteban Ocon imitates Daniel Ricciardo’s move, drifting into turn 19, but he does not manage to recover his Force India. The drivers have decided to engage in testing Pirelli’s prototype tires as almost all of them take to the track with these development compounds.

On the timesheet, Verstappen sits at the top after 25 minutes of the session with a 1:47.922, an eternity ahead of Hamilton and Vandoorne, who are 2.2 seconds behind the Dutchman. Further down, Ricciardo, Bottas, and Pérez are within the same second as Hamilton and Vandoorne. Ocon, Sainz, Massa, Stroll, and Gelael complete the top 11.

Finally taking to the track to record a time, Sebastian Vettel positions himself 2nd at 0.350 behind Verstappen, with Räikkönen still warming up in 11th. Well inspired on his lap, Felipe Massa displaces the German driver from the runner-up spot before securing the best time at 1:47.692.

After a late start, the Ferrari drivers stand out once again by being the first to switch to super-soft slicks. Vettel adapts and concludes the best lap of the session in 1:45.960 while Räikkönen went off track in turn 19. Felipe Massa also seized this grip opportunity, but with the rain reappearing, all three returned to their garages. « The problem is in the last sector, the last corners are very wet » informs the Brazilian over his radio.

RAI switches to the slicks – but he goes wide and returns to the pits #F1 #USGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/8c9Md6Wn4o

— Formula 1 (@F1) 20 octobre 2017

Ranking update at the mid-session:

FP1 INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (50/90 MINS): VET the only driver to post a time on the slicks #USGP 🇺🇸 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/7wZp1EuKfR

— Formula 1 (@F1) 20 octobre 2017

With improving conditions, Daniel Ricciardo breaks the prevailing silence to then set the fastest time with 1:39.366 on super-soft tires. Brendon Hartley, on ultra-soft tires, takes 2nd place before being displaced by Nico Hülkenberg, who is then displaced by Räikkönen.

With 30 minutes left in the session, things seem to be getting serious in the hunt for the stopwatch as Fernando Alonso still hasn’t set a time. Verstappen returns to the top of the timesheet with a 1:38.158, but that’s not accounting for Lewis Hamilton who takes back the lead with a 1:36.935 – 1.2 seconds better.

He’s now on track and @LewisHamilton moves into P1 👍
#USGP 🇺🇸 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/5Cdg3P8eIQ

— Formula 1 (@F1) 20 octobre 2017

Stoffel Vandoorne, still holding a time on intermediates, complains several times about severe vibrations in the 6th gear, which does not seem to concern the Japanese engineers. Valtteri Bottas comes within a whisker – 44 thousandths – of his teammate, while Vettel, back on track after a floor change on his SF70-H, is now 7th, behind the Force Indias running on soft tires.

Concern in the Mercedes box, Bottas’ FW08 is vibrating significantly at the rear; the wing can be seen shaking even at reduced speed. The Finn locked his two front wheels under braking at T1 and immediately cut his effort. Meanwhile, Alonso is patiently waiting and wandering around the McLaren stand next to his car, placed on trestles.

While Vandoorne seems to be performing well on track, posting a 7th fastest time, Alonso manages to get an opportunity to hit the track, seemingly just for an installation lap as he returns to the pits at the end of his lap. In sector 3, Romain Grosjean and Max Verstappen are involved in a bit of a tussle with trajectory crossovers. The Dutchman soon gives up the little game to continue his preparation work.

In the final laps, it’s once again a Haas that seems to be causing trouble. Kevin Magnussen incites the ire of Sebastian Vettel, with the Dane playing the hero by blocking the Ferrari driver in sector 3.

It is worth noting Vandoorne’s performance with the 5th fastest time ahead of a surprising Massa in 6th. Force India seems to be in good form this weekend, placing its two cars 8th (Ocon) and 9th (Pérez) on soft tires. Likewise, Carlos Sainz makes an impression by securing the 10th fastest time, being nearly eight-tenths ahead of Nico Hülkenberg.

Final ranking at the end of the session:

INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP1): A successful morning for @LewisHamilton #USGP 🇺🇸 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/83C5rODhgB

— Formula 1 (@F1) 20 octobre 2017