Austin, FP1: Hamilton edges Rosberg in first practice

Mercedes almost two seconds ahead in first practice

By Franck Drui

21 October 2016 - 18:35
Austin, FP1: Hamilton edges Rosberg in

Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheet in opening practice for the United States Grand Prix, running three tenths quicker than team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg. Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull.

Hamilton’s best time was set on the soft tyre after both he and Rosberg spent the early part of the session on the supersoft Pirelli compound, which is making its first appearance at the US Grand Prix this weekend.

Verstappen, meanwhile, set his best time on the medium tyre, which in part accounted for his being almost two seconds adrift of Hamilton’s time.

Verstappen finished just under three hundredths of a second clear of Kimi Raikkonen, though, like the Mercedes duo, the Ferrari driver set his best time on the soft tyre.

Nico Hulkenberg, who was recently announced as a 2017 works driver for Renault, finished the opening session in fifth place. The German kept Force India ahead of Williams in the tight battle for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, though he finished less than 0.1s ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Both set their best laps on soft tyres.

Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull was seventh fastest and like team-mate Verstappen, the Australian only used the medium tyre during the session. Sebastian Vettel was eighth in the second Ferrari.

The final top ten positions were taken the Toro Rosso pairing of Daniil Kvyat, ninth, and Carlos Sainz. Both of the Italian squad’s drivers set their best times of the session on the supersoft tyres.

Behind them Felipe Massa finished in P11 ahead of Sauber’s Felipe Nasr and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso.

US team Haas opened their first home grand prix weekend with 14th and 15th places for Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez respectively. It was a tricky session for the home squad, with Grosjean damaging his car when he ran hard over the kerbs. Gutierrez then rtan over the debris moments later. Both drivers halted in the pit lane and had to be pushed back to the team’s garage,

Elsewhere there was a grand prix weekend for Briton Jordan King who took over the Manor of Pascal Wehrlein. King had a good outing, finishing in P20 ahead of Esteban Ocon on the other Manor, though the duo used different compounds to set their best times.

Pos.DriverTeamTimeLaps
01 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG 1:37.428 25
02 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG 1:37.743 27
03 Max Verstappen Red Bull Tag Heuer 1:39.379 28
04 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:39.407 21
05 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes 1:39.712 27
06 Valtteri Bottas Williams Mercedes 1:39.776 30
07 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Tag Heuer 1:39.963 26
08 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:39.988 15
09 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:40.131 16
10 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:40.140 26
11 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1:40.191 27
12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari 1:40.287 16
13 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1:40.362 26
14 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:40.826 15
15 Esteban Gutierrez Haas Ferrari 1:40.970 15
16 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:41.170 17
17 Alfonso Celis Force India Mercedes 1:41.422 27
18 Jenson Button McLaren Honda 1:41.663 21
19 Kevin Magnussen Renault F1 1:41.942 22
20 Jordan King Manor Mercedes 1:42.012 29
21 Jolyon Palmer Renault F1 1:42.332 31
22 Esteban Ocon Manor Mercedes 1:43.874 27

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