United States – Free Practice 2: Rosberg’s turn, Ricciardo’s sandwich
Nico Rosberg set the best time of the second session in Austin. But Daniel Ricciardo took the Mercedes by surprise! There's a big gap between the top three and the rest of the pack...
After a first session marked by the time dominance of the Mercedes, the field returned to its classic configuration for the kickoff of this FP2, held at the same hour as Sunday’s Grand Prix (2 PM local time; 9 PM Paris time).
Indeed, Pascal Wehrlein and Sergio Perez were reclaiming their seats, which had been filled by Jordan King and Alfonso Celis Jr for Manor and Force India, respectively.
Once again, the weather conditions were perfect: bright sunshine and 36 degrees on the track!
The best time set before mid-session
To put on a good show, the beginning of the session in Austin was marked by a very brief one-two from the two Haas cars at the top of the timesheets. But moments later, the heavy hitters arrived. First, it was the two Scuderia Ferraris that displaced their teammates, with Sebastian Vettel ahead of Kimi Räikkönen. Equipped with soft tires, the Italian cars were then stripped of their lead; first by Max Verstappen, then by Nico Rosberg, who set an impressive 1:38.042. Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo then slid ahead of the Dutchman to form the initial top 5 of this session.
In the meantime, Esteban Ocon was exploring the limits of the Circuit of the Americas. The Frenchman lost control of his Manor in the seventeenth corner and went through the gravel, though he didn’t stay there.
The first half-hour of the session then saw the switch to super-soft tires. It was quickly noticeable that the drivers were struggling with exploiting these tires. Kimi Räikkönen went through the asphalt run-offs, complaining about the poor rear-end behavior of his SF16-H. Meanwhile, even with these high-performance tires, Vettel did not surpass Rosberg’s mark on his soft tires.
After half an hour, number 6 raised the level again, with a time of 1:37.358, 7 tenths of a second faster than on soft tires. But just behind, the surprise came from the Red Bull team. Daniel Ricciardo was just 0.194 behind the German. Most notably, he positioned himself a tenth ahead of Lewis Hamilton!
The midway point was reached, the ranking was then as follows:
1 Rosberg; 2 Ricciardo; 3 Hamilton; 4 Vettel; 5 Verstappen; 6 Hülkenberg; 7 Perez; 8 Button; 9 Alonso; 10 Räikkönen
11 Sainz; 12 Magnussen; 13 Nasr; 14 Bottas; 15 Kvyat; 16 Massa
Pneumatic uncertainties for the continuation of hostilities?
Romain Grosjean was on the other hand the last driver to fit the super-soft tires. The former Lotus F1 driver was constantly struggling with his car, which brings back some very bad memories, like those of Singapore for example.
In any case, the time had come for the long stints. A brief interruption with a red flag hindered its start. This allowed for the removal of some debris from a Haas left on the American track, between the high-speed turns from T3 to T5.
Despite this, the tire developments were very uncertain, particularly with soft tires. Considering the performances of drivers like Max Verstappen, this tire wear began as early as the fifth lap on track!
For the leader of the world championship, there were concerns even though there were no cuts on this type of tire.
On the Texas track, the free practice continued. Program respected twice by Jolyon Palmer, who spun off in the eighth corner, straight into the gravel and grass. This second session ended, and Lewis Hamilton was unable to secure a double for Mercedes. Daniel Ricciardo was finally positioned between the two men, with a helmet specially designed for this American weekend.
An American touch for @danielricciardo with this Evel Knievel inspired lid for the #USGP! 🤘🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/6Ulu1bm0y6
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) 21 octobre /f1/actualite/21443-etats-unis-essais-libres-1-hamilton-a-tire-le-premier-ce-vendredi.html
The reading of the final standings of this FP2 is also hardly flattering for Kimi Räikkönen, who made a mistake on his flying lap on super-softs.
Even worse, the two Haas cars ended their first day at home at the bottom of the table, with Grosjean in 18th and Gutierrez in 20th.
11th, Carlos Sainz finished his day with a spin on the 18th lap. An action ultimately without consequences for the smooth running of his weekend.
Here is the final ranking of this second free practice session:
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF #FP2): @nico_rosberg fastest on Friday! @danielricciardo splits the two Mercedes 💪 #USGP 🇺🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/htkJCjTUAX
— Formula 1 (@F1) 21 octobre /f1/actualite/21443-etats-unis-essais-libres-1-hamilton-a-tire-le-premier-ce-vendredi.html
We now invite you to join us tomorrow around 6 PM for the recap of FP3. Until then, stay connected to our site to discover the various reactions from the participants of this United States Grand Prix!
