2014 US Grand Prix Friday - Practice
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Button, a long-time FP1 pacesetter, goes second, 2.4s down on Bottas.
Both Toro Rossos now out as Vergne joins in. He was our other absentee this morning, watching Verstappen in his car instead.
Grosjean slots in 3.2s slower than the Williams.
Stopwatch
Bottas puts the first time on the board: a 1m44.534s.
Kvyat brings his Toro Rosso out now as well. Still just four of 18 running, though.
First cars out are the Williams of Bottas (who loaned his car to Nasr in the morning), Grosjean's Lotus and Button's McLaren.
Green flag
The green light comes on and practice two begins.
It was a Mercedes one-two, again, in the morning, while the new battle to avoid being last of the 18 entrants was lost by Grosjean's Lotus.
Welcome back to AUTOSPORT Live, we're minutes away from United States track action resuming with practice two at Austin.
Hamilton Austin
We'll leave you with BEN ANDERSON's full report of that session, which can be found here.
Our coverage will resume when FP2 gets under way at Austin, at around 7pm UK time time. Be sure to check out AUTOSPORT.com for all the latest news from the paddock in the meantime.
Worth noting that the FIA trialed its virtual safety car initiative at the end of that session, a measure that's being brought in as a response to Jules Bianchi's accident at Suzuka.
Besides Ricciardo, whose ERS failure brought down the curtain on his session early, Nasr was the only driver to complete fewer than 20 laps, the Brazilian managing only 19.
McLaren meanwhile looks solid so far, setting the third and fifth best times.
Splitting Button and Magnussen on the timesheets was Kvyat, who set the most laps that session with 33. Next up were Rosberg and Verstappen, both on 32.
Splitting Button and Magnussen on the timesheets was Kvyat, who set the most laps that session with 33. Next up were Rosberg and Verstappen, both on 32.
Another practice session, and another Mercedes one-two. The gap between Hamilton and Rosberg, 0.292s, was somewhat larger in that session than it usually is on a Friday morning.
Rosberg is 17 points behind heading into this weekend, making this a must-win weekend if he's to keep his team-mate in his sights.
Rosberg is 17 points behind heading into this weekend, making this a must-win weekend if he's to keep his team-mate in his sights.
Back of the field:
10 Verstappen
11 Massa
12 Raikkonen
13 Maldonado
14 Sutil
15 Perez
16 Gutierrez
17 Ricciardo
18 Grosjean
10 Verstappen
11 Massa
12 Raikkonen
13 Maldonado
14 Sutil
15 Perez
16 Gutierrez
17 Ricciardo
18 Grosjean
Checkered flag
With the flag out, here's the final order:
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Button
4 Kvyat
5 Magnussen
6 Alonso
7 Vettel
8 Nasr
9 Hulkenberg
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Button
4 Kvyat
5 Magnussen
6 Alonso
7 Vettel
8 Nasr
9 Hulkenberg
Gutierrez was on a quick-ish lap at the end but stays 16th behind countryman Perez.
Raikkonen is sat motionless in the middle of the pitlane, as his Ferrari crew members rush to his aid.
Replays show him follow Grosjean's Lotus into the pits, nearly nosing past the Frenchman before grinding to a halt.
Replays show him follow Grosjean's Lotus into the pits, nearly nosing past the Frenchman before grinding to a halt.
Yellow flag
Grosjean enjoys a wild moment at Turn 19, enquiring to his team about the possibility of a puncture or suspension failure.
Maldonado meanwhile suffers a spin in the sister Lotus, bringing out the yellow flags briefly.
Maldonado meanwhile suffers a spin in the sister Lotus, bringing out the yellow flags briefly.
Vettel is out of his car with three minutes left of this session, currently sitting seventh fastest.
Red Bull has confirmed that the German will at least take part in Q1, despite the fact he'll be starting the race on Sunday from the pitlane owing to an engine change.
Red Bull has confirmed that the German will at least take part in Q1, despite the fact he'll be starting the race on Sunday from the pitlane owing to an engine change.
A few hints of improvements in sector times from the likes of the Lotuses but no position changes right now heading into the final minutes.
Raikkonen sails wide at the first corner, locking up his front-left, replays show.
Quote
"I'm struggling with the rears," says Vettel to his team over radio, while Rosberg is instructed to save more fuel by his engineer.
Both of today's guest runners are in the top 10 as things stand - Nasr is eighth, with Verstappen two places below the Brazilian.
Ricciardo is still yet to get back on circuit, and looks unlikely to do so with 10 minutes to run. Only Grosjean currently is below the Australian in the times.
Twitter
Grosjean is now back on track, using the original twin-tusk configuration after his stint using the new wedge nose, as this tweet by Lotus reveals.
EDD STRAW has now moved up to the hairpin, where he notes that Vettel is able to get hard on the power without any wheelspin.
Alonso has ended his run and come back in, but Verstappen is now out for some more laps.
Another lock-up for Alonso there, before lighting up the rears coming out of the final bend. He stays sixth, 1.1s off the pace.
Alonso is on a better lap in the Ferrari. He's currently sixth.
Just four cars on track at the moment - Rosberg, Kvyat, Alonso and Vettel. Everyone else is back in the pits.
Stopwatch
Another improvement from Hamilton: the first place time is now a 1m39.941s.
EDD STRAW stood out at the high-speed S-bends: This section asks a lot of the suspension. While on TV it looks relatively flat, there are undulations and cambers that make it difficult.
Stopwatch
Hamilton raises the bar again with a 1m40.004s lap.
Magnussen comes very close to doing what Sutil did at Turn 19, getting a wheel on the astroturf but skilfully keeping his McLaren pointed in the right direction.
Alonso gets a change of front wing as he pits in, although the one that was removed from his Ferrari didn't appear to be damaged.
EDD STRAW: Hamilton looked stunning through the esses there. Attacking, controlled and carrying great speed.
Back half of the field:
10 Massa
11 Nasr
12 Raikkonen
13 Maldonado
14 Sutil
15 Perez
16 Gutierrez
17 Ricciardo
18 Grosjean
10 Massa
11 Nasr
12 Raikkonen
13 Maldonado
14 Sutil
15 Perez
16 Gutierrez
17 Ricciardo
18 Grosjean
Order heading into the final half-hour:
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Button
4 Kvyat
5 Magnussen
6 Alonso
7 Vettel
8 Hulkenberg
9 Verstappen
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Button
4 Kvyat
5 Magnussen
6 Alonso
7 Vettel
8 Hulkenberg
9 Verstappen
Stopwatch
As Hamilton goes slightly quicker still with a 1m40.044s, Rosberg makes it a Mercedes one-two, 0.189s down.
By: Pablo Elizalde, Jamie Klein, Ben Anderson, AUTOSPORT staff, Glenn Freeman, Matt Beer
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