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Formula 1
United States GP
2014 US Grand Prix Friday - Practice
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Sutil spins at Turn 19, but he's able to continue without too much ado. The German just put a wheel on to the damp astroturf.
EDD STRAW: Rosberg's direction change in the esses was very sharp on that lap. He didn't seem to have any problems with the rear.
Stopwatch
Hamilton now grabs the top spot with a 1m40.106s, finally ending McLaren's time on top.
Little to choose between the two versions of the Lotus at the moment. Maldonado is 17th in the twin-tusk variant, three hundredths clear of Grosjean's new-look machine.
Rosberg does gain ground next time around, going second to Button on a 1m40.675s, three tenths down.
Like Rosberg, though, Hamilton loses time further around the lap. He remains eighth.
Hamilton is on a potential session-topping lap now based on his pace in the splits.
Hulkenberg moves up to seventh place between the Mercedes, despite reporting difficulties with brake balance to his team over the radio.
Rosberg was fastest through the second sector, but spoiled his lap running wide at the last corner. He goes sixth for now.
Also on the limit is Verstappen, who grabs an armful of oversteer coming through the first sector on that last lap.
Magnussen is in maximum attack mode, EDD STRAW notes from trackside, in big contrast to Button.
Magnussen hinted at improving his time with better first and second sectors, but the end of the lap is slower and he stays second.
Verstappen moves back into the top 10, going ninth fastest.
Hulkenberg improves slightly more, going 13th ahead of Maldonado.
Vettel goes fourth quickest, though he's instantly beaten by Kvyat.
Hulkenberg finally sets a time, slotting into 15th place ahead of team-mate Perez.
Ricciardo's having trouble with his energy recovery system, and it seems the Australian may be out of the rest of this session.
Kvyat, Vettel and Hulkenberg - the Force India yet to set a time - are also back out.
EDD STRAW: Verstappen was cautious on run one and said yesterday that he wasn't worried about laptimes - he knows the time he needs to be quick is the start of next season.
It's a mature approach, and while he's taking it easy, he's far from slow.
It's a mature approach, and while he's taking it easy, he's far from slow.
Verstappen is the first man to leave the pitlane again, closely followed by Magnussen.
Still no one back out on the track to get the second half of the session going yet.
More Turn 3-4-5 wisdom from EDD STRAW in his perch high above Texas:
This section of track can be a nightmare in the race because of traffic.
As we saw in 2012, when Vettel lost momentum behind Narain Karthikeyan's HRT and left himself exposed to an attack from Hamilton, there is little opportunity to lap a slow car between Turns 3 and 7. The absence of Caterham and Marussia will at least make that less of a concern for the frontrunners on Sunday.
This section of track can be a nightmare in the race because of traffic.
As we saw in 2012, when Vettel lost momentum behind Narain Karthikeyan's HRT and left himself exposed to an attack from Hamilton, there is little opportunity to lap a slow car between Turns 3 and 7. The absence of Caterham and Marussia will at least make that less of a concern for the frontrunners on Sunday.
The Brit's back in the pits, meaning there isn't a single car running at the moment.
Button has surpassed Rosberg's record for most laps set so far, having now completed 12.
Pacesetter Button improves his time in the first sector, but tails off around the rest of the lap.
EDD STRAW reckons Turns 3-4-5 at Austin is one of the best places to watch F1 in the world.
It's interesting to contrast the balance and direction change of the various cars: The Williams changes direction brilliantly, the rear momentarily seeming to break traction but staying under control, whereas the Toro Rosso rear end is unstable and doesn't recover quickly.
It's interesting to contrast the balance and direction change of the various cars: The Williams changes direction brilliantly, the rear momentarily seeming to break traction but staying under control, whereas the Toro Rosso rear end is unstable and doesn't recover quickly.
Worth noting that the top three currently - Button, Magnussen and Alonso - are all drivers who may be off the grid next year, depending on how the driver market pans out.
Stopwatch
Button enjoys the track to himself and grabs first place back from Magnussen with a 1m40.319s, seven tenths quicker.
And the rest of the field:
10 Ricciardo
11 Verstappen
12 Vettel
13 Maldonado
14 Gutierrez
15 Perez
16 Grosjean
17 Sutil
18 Hulkenberg
10 Ricciardo
11 Verstappen
12 Vettel
13 Maldonado
14 Gutierrez
15 Perez
16 Grosjean
17 Sutil
18 Hulkenberg
Here's the order after the opening half-hour:
1 Magnussen
2 Button
3 Alonso
4 Hamilton
5 Raikkonen
6 Rosberg
7 Nasr
8 Kvyat
9 Massa
1 Magnussen
2 Button
3 Alonso
4 Hamilton
5 Raikkonen
6 Rosberg
7 Nasr
8 Kvyat
9 Massa
Replays show Vettel suffering a small lock-up exactly where Alonso had one a few laps back, at Turn 12.
Everyone is back in the pits now, with the exception of Button.
Rosberg hinted at an improvement but aborted the lap and pitted.
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"Front tyre is de-laminating," Grosjean tells his team over the radio before promptly diving into the pits to get it checked.
Championship rivals Hamilton and Rosberg are currently fourth and sixth, split by Raikkonen.
Last few minutes before the extra tyres have to be returned, and 16 of the 18 drivers present are in action.
Stopwatch
Magnussen now deposes Button from the top spot, beating his team-mate by 0.08s.
Hulkenberg is the only driver still yet to set a time, but the German is on track. Most laps so far goes to Rosberg, on 10.
On a lap just before that, Alonso took a chunk of the kerb on the apex of the first left-hander, EDD STRAW reports. It slightly destabiiises the car, but not too much.
Raikkonen is much smoother through that section, but seems slower.
Raikkonen is much smoother through that section, but seems slower.
Alonso interrupts the McLaren formation to go second for Ferrari, a tenth and a half down on Button.
By: Pablo Elizalde, Jamie Klein, Ben Anderson, AUTOSPORT staff, Glenn Freeman, Matt Beer
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