Hamilton stays on top while problem delays Vettel

2017 United States Grand Prix second practice

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Lewis Hamilton stayed on top in the second practice session at the Circuit of the Americas but his championship rival was delayed by a technical problem.

2017 United States GP practice in pictures
Sebastian Vettel had to interrupt his race stint simulation at the end of practice after reporting “something weird with the front axle”. He told his team it “feels a bit like jelly in the front” as he headed into the pits for an inspection. Vettel returned to the track shortly before the end of the session.

The Ferrari driver ended the day third-quickest, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull separating him from Hamilton at the top of the times sheets. Behind Vettel came Bottas, who was over six tenths of a second slower than his team mate.

Behind Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso put his McLaren ‘best of the rest’ in seventh having enjoyed a more productive second outing. He was followed by Felipe Massa and the two Force Indias.

Daniil Kvyat was the quicker of the two Toro Rosso drivers in his first session back in the car. Newcomer Brendon Hartley was over a second off his team mate’s time when he made his first attempt on ultra-soft tyres.

Romain Grosjean ended an unhappy session in last place. He had complained about his team mate’s driving earlier on in practice and was unhappy with his car’s balance.

Pos.No.DriverCarBest lapGapLaps
144Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’34.66826
233Max VerstappenRed Bull-TAG Heuer1’35.0650.39730
35Sebastian VettelFerrari1’35.1920.52411
477Valtteri BottasMercedes1’35.2790.61139
53Daniel RicciardoRed Bull-TAG Heuer1’35.4630.79524
67Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1’35.5140.84629
714Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Honda1’36.3041.63628
819Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes1’36.4601.79230
911Sergio PerezForce India-Mercedes1’36.4811.81328
1031Esteban OconForce India-Mercedes1’36.4901.82234
1155Carlos Sainz JnrRenault1’36.5291.86130
1227Nico HulkenbergRenault1’36.5341.86618
1326Daniil KvyatToro Rosso-Renault1’36.7612.09340
1420Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari1’37.2852.61717
152Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren-Honda1’37.4632.79531
1618Lance StrollWilliams-Mercedes1’37.7883.12027
1739Brendon HartleyToro Rosso-Renault1’37.9873.31941
1894Pascal WehrleinSauber-Ferrari1’38.1653.49735
199Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari1’38.2623.59422
208Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari1’38.3873.71926

Second practice visual gaps

Lewis Hamilton – 1’34.668

+0.397 Max Verstappen – 1’35.065

+0.524 Sebastian Vettel – 1’35.192

+0.611 Valtteri Bottas – 1’35.279

+0.795 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’35.463

+0.846 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’35.514

+1.636 Fernando Alonso – 1’36.304

+1.792 Felipe Massa – 1’36.460

+1.813 Sergio Perez – 1’36.481

+1.822 Esteban Ocon – 1’36.490

+1.861 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’36.529

+1.866 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’36.534

+2.093 Daniil Kvyat – 1’36.761

+2.617 Kevin Magnussen – 1’37.285

+2.795 Stoffel Vandoorne – 1’37.463

+3.120 Lance Stroll – 1’37.788

+3.319 Brendon Hartley – 1’37.987

+3.497 Pascal Wehrlein – 1’38.165

+3.594 Marcus Ericsson – 1’38.262

+3.719 Romain Grosjean – 1’38.387

Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.

DriverTeamBest ultra-soft timeUltra-soft gapBest super-soft timeSuper-soft gapBest soft timeSoft gap
Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’34.668None1’36.5340.206
Valtteri BottasMercedes1’35.2790.6111’36.8170.701None
Daniel RicciardoRed Bull1’35.4630.7951’36.116None
Max VerstappenRed Bull1’35.0650.397None1’36.328
Sebastian VettelFerrari1’35.1920.524None2’01.63425.306
Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1’35.5140.8461’36.6670.551None
Sergio PerezForce India1’36.4811.8131’37.0340.918None
Esteban OconForce India1’36.4901.8221’37.5091.393None
Felipe MassaWilliams1’36.4601.792None1’38.3402.012
Lance StrollWilliams1’37.7883.121’38.5342.418None
Fernando AlonsoMcLaren1’36.3041.636None1’37.6661.338
Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren1’37.4632.7951’37.5351.419None
Daniil KvyatToro Rosso1’36.7612.093None1’38.1191.791
Brendon HartleyToro Rosso1’37.9873.3191’39.1883.072None
Romain GrosjeanHaas1’38.7494.0811’38.3872.271None
Kevin MagnussenHaas1’37.2852.617None1’44.0627.734
Nico HulkenbergRenault1’36.5341.866None1’38.2461.918
Carlos Sainz JnrRenault1’36.5291.8611’38.1432.027None
Marcus EricssonSauber1’38.2623.5941’39.2033.087None
Pascal WehrleinSauber1’38.1653.497None1’39.4653.137

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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14 comments on “Hamilton stays on top while problem delays Vettel”

  1. There’s only one new Renault R.E.17G spec for each team this year and it goes to Hartley, Hulkenberg & Verstappen.
    It’s not gonna matter much in Toro Rosso intra team battle it seem, but friday practice result doesn’t look good for Hulkenberg.
    Since Max only start using it tomorrow, we can only hope that Renault new spec really can challenge Merc on merit in qualification. Second hard blow to Ricciardo after Horner said that RedBull gonna build the team around Verstappen.

    1. “Second hard blow to Ricciardo after Horner said that RedBull gonna build the team around Verstappen.”

      Where/when was that stated?

      1. Sorry, that question directed at @ruliemaulana

        1. That’s not what he said at all! I realise that English may not be your first language but subtle changes in words can change the meaning dramatically. What he said was “Max Verstappen should stay at the Red Bull Formula 1 team long term and build it around him,” reckons team principal Christian Horner.

          That’s a whole lot different from saying that Red Bull ARE going to build the team around him (Verstappen). Horner means that Verstappen should himself push to get the team to back him. He can only do that by bringing results. Thats how it works in F1.

  2. Funny that by not racing this year Rosberg is doing his reputation more good than harm. Bottas is having an absolute mere these past races.

    1. I agree. With Hamilton sorting out his starts and equal reliability I just can’t see how Rosberg would have defeated Hamilton this season.

      Bottas’ performances really put into perspective how good Rosberg actually was. Quick over a single lap and on his day he had the measure of Lewis. That simply hasn’t happened often enough for Bottas this season.

      With Lewis getting a handle on the “Diva” we are seeing a massive and consistent gap to Bottas of approx half a second. Lauda once said “Lewis has a tenth or two on Nico” but with Bottas the gap is wider.

      Simply put- Rosberg > Bottas.

      1. Unfortunately after a few moments of brilliance earlier in the season, this form is more what I expected from Bottas. He didn’t have much margin on Massa who is bang average these days so, yeh, this is why the choice for the most coveted seat on the grid was a little disappointing.

    2. @john-h Consider that this car was not designed around Bottas in any way. He basically jumped to Rosberg seat with weeks to spare before Australia. It was always going to be a transitioning year for him.

      He did very well at the beginning of the year, and was even catching Hamilton up in the WDC until Lewis got that hattrick after the Summer break.

      Besides, Nico was good anyway, it just happened that Lewis was better. And that’s not bad because Lewis is an all-time great.

      1. Yeah, I’d lighten up on Valtteri. Nico actually won two races to Hamilton’s one the first year they were paired together (although Lewis outscored him 189-171, but I also believe Nico had 3 DNFs to Lewis’ 1). It wasn’t until Hamilton actually had input in the next year’s car did he outshine Rosberg comprehensively… & then when Mercedes made changes to the front suspension that more suited Rosberg’s driving style mid 2016, the pendulum swung towards him again (that & the start/clutch paddle changes caught Lewis out on many occasions). I’m sure next year Bottas will be better able to mount a stronger challenge. He’s doing a damn good job, IMO. Lewis is a tough teammate, & the Ferrari cars have been the better cars on Sunday quite often.

        1. “I’m sure next year Bottas will be better able to mount a stronger challenge.“

          You’re hoping for a lot.

        2. One of those wins for Rosberg is where Hamilton was in the lead and his tyre exploded. So teh fact that Rosberg was gifted that win doesn’t really say much.

          1. Oh, yeah… I’d forgotten it was that year Lewis suffered the Silverstone blowout. Good job remembering that.

  3. I suppose I should get out more but I couldn’t help notice that Alonso’s Honda was in front of 4 Mercedes, 4 Renaults and 4 Ferrari’s. You sure you wanna switch next year McLaren? (Yeah, I know it’s only practice :) )

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