Drivers found more grip at the Circuit of the Americas on their second visit to the circuit but as in 2012 should only need to make one pit stop for tyres.
“Compared to last year, the track conditions seemed better,” said Fernando Alonso, who added he had no concerns about his back following today’s running.
“For the first Grand Prix here, it was too new and there was a bit of oil on the track, while now there?óÔé¼Ôäós a lot more grip,” Alonso explained.
“As expected, there was very little degradation today as Pirelli?óÔé¼Ôäós choice of the medium and hard compounds here in Austin are an ultra-conservative choice.”
Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery concurred with Alonso’s view. “From what we can see so far, we could well be looking at a one-stop race for most runners, as was the case last year, although some may try two stops if they feel it offers a speed advantage.”
There was no indication that Red Bull’s advantage in recent races has been diminished by any of their rivals. But Lewis Hamilton is at least feeling happier with his Mercedes after a fault was diagnosed in his previous chassis.
“After we changed the chassis yesterday, the car felt better to drive,” said Hamilton, “particularly on the long run when it was pretty consistent, so that’s a positive for me”.
Daniil Kvyat made his first appearance in an official F1 session ahead of his race debut next year but was one of several drivers to be frustrated by limited running in the first session.
“I enjoyed every single moment of driving the track even though there was a delay because of the fog and then a red flag,” said the Toro Rosso driver. “We didn?óÔé¼Ôäót do the full programme of course because the session was shortened, but we still did 20 laps which is important mileage for me and we also managed to do some aero measurements.
“Of course I?óÔé¼Ôäóve never driven here before and I think the track is very nice. It was good to go out there to try and find the limit of the car and the brakes.”
Here’s all the data from Friday practice for the United States Grand Prix:
Longest stint comparison
This chart shows all the drivers’ lap times (in seconds) during their longest unbroken stint:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | |
Sebastian Vettel | 103.273 | 102.935 | 103.069 | 103.513 | 103.065 | 103.191 | 103.759 | 103.062 | 103.016 | 104.919 | 104.407 | 103.137 | 103.801 | 109.996 | 101.981 | ||||
Mark Webber | 102.561 | 103.761 | 110.973 | 101.914 | 102.549 | 105.04 | 103.017 | 104.495 | 102.976 | 102.032 | 102.261 | ||||||||
Fernando Alonso | 104.433 | 104.043 | 103.667 | 104.154 | 104.024 | 103.598 | |||||||||||||
Felipe Massa | 104.928 | 104.731 | 106.511 | 104.69 | 107.671 | 104.614 | 104.26 | 104.706 | 105.425 | 107.157 | 106.687 | 104.071 | 104.128 | ||||||
Jenson Button | 104.937 | 104.405 | 104.485 | 109.73 | 103.954 | 103.856 | 103.738 | 103.733 | 103.833 | 105.296 | 106.279 | 106.426 | 106.552 | 103.815 | 103.661 | ||||
Sergio Perez | 105.696 | 105.008 | 104.807 | 106.062 | 107.475 | 105.831 | 105.424 | 105.183 | 104.586 | 104.572 | |||||||||
Heikki Kovalainen | 105.603 | 104.631 | 104.908 | 104.939 | 104.455 | 104.714 | 105.206 | 104.319 | 104.667 | 104.816 | 103.769 | 103.843 | 103.847 | ||||||
Romain Grosjean | 104.434 | 104.294 | 103.757 | 104.019 | 103.634 | 103.356 | 104.209 | 103.358 | 103.958 | 104.248 | 113.749 | 109.818 | |||||||
Nico Rosberg | 104.044 | 103.969 | 103.886 | 103.549 | 104.958 | 104.452 | 104.465 | 104.138 | 103.306 | 102.598 | |||||||||
Lewis Hamilton | 105.167 | 104.763 | 108.777 | 104.309 | 105.59 | 104.409 | 104.178 | 103.883 | 104.423 | 104.094 | 103.943 | 103.784 | 106.916 | 109.345 | 108.23 | 104.38 | 111.247 | 105.064 | 104.187 |
Nico Hulkenberg | 104.14 | 104.267 | 103.664 | 103.852 | 104.154 | 104.583 | 104.56 | 103.855 | 103.992 | 104.225 | 104.714 | 104.025 | |||||||
Esteban Gutierrez | 104.587 | 104.283 | 104.302 | 104.713 | 105.512 | 104.343 | 104.26 | 104.169 | 104.301 | 104.145 | 104.451 | 103.505 | |||||||
Paul di Resta | 105.205 | 104.66 | 104.465 | 104.809 | 104.4 | 106.799 | |||||||||||||
Adrian Sutil | 107.442 | 106.126 | 106.999 | 105.897 | 105.271 | 104.438 | |||||||||||||
Pastor Maldonado | 107.147 | 106.62 | 106.269 | 106.152 | 105.901 | 106.412 | 105.64 | 105.049 | 106.285 | 106.392 | 105.855 | 106.515 | 105.789 | 106.048 | 105.164 | ||||
Valtteri Bottas | 105.467 | 105.221 | 105.139 | 104.995 | 104.631 | 104.842 | 104.515 | 104.592 | 105.682 | 107.764 | 106.862 | 106.317 | |||||||
Jean-Eric Vergne | 104.762 | 104.669 | 105.261 | 108.782 | 107.471 | 106.29 | 105.001 | 105.385 | 105.079 | ||||||||||
Daniel Ricciardo | 105.638 | 105.281 | 110.54 | 109.414 | 105.005 | 104.828 | 104.42 | 104.594 | |||||||||||
Charles Pic | 107.502 | 107.197 | 106.582 | 106.888 | 109.175 | 107.443 | 106.893 | 107.162 | 106.613 | 106.23 | 106.639 | 106.269 | 106.607 | ||||||
Giedo van der Garde | 109.915 | 106.628 | 106.564 | 106.329 | 107.054 | 109.614 | 106.589 | 106.455 | 106.097 | 111.231 | |||||||||
Jules Bianchi | 109.128 | 110.88 | 109.047 | ||||||||||||||||
Max Chilton | 107.641 | 107.775 | 108.394 | 108.387 | 106.482 | 106.536 | 106.775 |
Sector times and ultimate lap times
Pos | No. | Driver | Car | S1 | S2 | S3 | Ultimate | Gap | Deficit to best |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 26.474 (1) | 39.038 (2) | 31.793 (1) | 1’37.305 | 0.000 | |
2 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 26.585 (6) | 38.807 (1) | 32.003 (2) | 1’37.395 | 0.090 | 0.025 |
3 | 9 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 26.514 (3) | 39.062 (3) | 32.209 (9) | 1’37.785 | 0.480 | 0.000 |
4 | 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 26.494 (2) | 39.172 (4) | 32.126 (8) | 1’37.792 | 0.487 | 0.166 |
5 | 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | 26.656 (9) | 39.271 (6) | 32.123 (7) | 1’38.050 | 0.745 | 0.204 |
6 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 26.601 (7) | 39.393 (8) | 32.064 (3) | 1’38.058 | 0.753 | 0.197 |
7 | 7 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Renault | 26.711 (11) | 39.264 (5) | 32.098 (6) | 1’38.073 | 0.768 | 0.000 |
8 | 5 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 26.749 (12) | 39.312 (7) | 32.085 (5) | 1’38.146 | 0.841 | 0.123 |
9 | 12 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 26.686 (10) | 39.452 (11) | 32.079 (4) | 1’38.217 | 0.912 | 0.012 |
10 | 3 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 26.576 (5) | 39.438 (10) | 32.264 (10) | 1’38.278 | 0.973 | 0.183 |
11 | 15 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 26.916 (17) | 39.424 (9) | 32.379 (11) | 1’38.719 | 1.414 | 0.000 |
12 | 6 | Sergio Perez | McLaren-Mercedes | 26.635 (8) | 39.778 (15) | 32.388 (12) | 1’38.801 | 1.496 | 0.140 |
13 | 4 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 26.554 (4) | 39.851 (17) | 32.486 (13) | 1’38.891 | 1.586 | 0.047 |
14 | 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 26.794 (14) | 39.576 (12) | 32.775 (17) | 1’39.145 | 1.840 | 0.101 |
15 | 14 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 26.769 (13) | 39.666 (14) | 32.718 (16) | 1’39.153 | 1.848 | 0.257 |
16 | 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Renault | 26.850 (15) | 39.811 (16) | 32.672 (14) | 1’39.333 | 2.028 | 0.179 |
17 | 18 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 27.043 (18) | 39.663 (13) | 32.706 (15) | 1’39.412 | 2.107 | 0.167 |
18 | 16 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 26.855 (16) | 39.969 (18) | 32.877 (19) | 1’39.701 | 2.396 | 0.083 |
19 | 20 | Charles Pic | Caterham-Renault | 27.069 (19) | 40.299 (20) | 32.836 (18) | 1’40.204 | 2.899 | 0.172 |
20 | 21 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham-Renault | 27.357 (20) | 40.293 (19) | 32.913 (20) | 1’40.563 | 3.258 | 0.000 |
21 | 23 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Cosworth | 28.873 (21) | 42.061 (21) | 35.035 (21) | 1’45.969 | 8.664 | 0.257 |
22 | 22 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Cosworth | 29.180 (22) | 42.218 (22) | 35.326 (22) | 1’46.724 | 9.419 | 0.285 |
Complete practice times
Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | Total laps | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’40.662 | 1’37.305 | 56 | ||
2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1’39.083 | 1’37.420 | 54 | ||
3 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’38.657 | 1’37.785 | 59 | ||
4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’38.979 | 1’37.958 | 59 | ||
5 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Renault | 1’39.487 | 1’38.073 | 59 | ||
6 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’38.532 | 1’38.229 | 58 | ||
7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’39.158 | 1’38.254 | 57 | ||
8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1’39.238 | 1’38.255 | 46 | ||
9 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1’38.371 | 1’38.269 | 59 | ||
10 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’38.343 | 1’38.461 | 49 | ||
11 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Renault | 1’38.388 | 1’39.512 | 54 | ||
12 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1’39.699 | 1’38.719 | 46 | ||
13 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’39.005 | 1’38.938 | 54 | ||
14 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 1’39.256 | 1’38.941 | 48 | ||
15 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1’39.200 | 1’39.784 | 48 | ||
16 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’39.863 | 1’39.246 | 47 | ||
17 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1’39.836 | 1’39.410 | 49 | ||
18 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’39.579 | 36 | |||
19 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’40.065 | 20 | |||
20 | Charles Pic | Caterham-Renault | 1’42.054 | 1’40.376 | 58 | ||
21 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham-Renault | 1’40.563 | 35 | |||
22 | Alexander Rossi | Caterham-Renault | 1’41.399 | 21 | |||
23 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’41.605 | 1’46.226 | 50 | ||
24 | Rodolfo Gonzalez | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’43.716 | 17 | |||
25 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’47.987 | 20 |
Speed trap
# | Driver | Car | Engine | Max speed (kph) | Gap | |
1 | 14 | Paul di Resta | Force India | Mercedes | 315.1 | |
2 | 15 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | Mercedes | 314.1 | 1 |
3 | 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | Renault | 313.6 | 1.5 |
4 | 6 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | Mercedes | 313.4 | 1.7 |
5 | 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 313.1 | 2 |
6 | 12 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | Ferrari | 313.1 | 2 |
7 | 16 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | Renault | 313 | 2.1 |
8 | 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | Ferrari | 312.6 | 2.5 |
9 | 5 | Jenson Button | McLaren | Mercedes | 312.3 | 2.8 |
10 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | Renault | 311.7 | 3.4 |
11 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | Renault | 311.1 | 4 |
12 | 9 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | Mercedes | 310.9 | 4.2 |
13 | 18 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | Ferrari | 309.9 | 5.2 |
14 | 7 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus | Renault | 308.8 | 6.3 |
15 | 3 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | Ferrari | 308.4 | 6.7 |
16 | 4 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | Ferrari | 307.9 | 7.2 |
17 | 20 | Charles Pic | Caterham | Renault | 306.9 | 8.2 |
18 | 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | Ferrari | 306.8 | 8.3 |
19 | 21 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | Renault | 306.8 | 8.3 |
20 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | Renault | 304.8 | 10.3 |
21 | 23 | Max Chilton | Marussia | Cosworth | 301.5 | 13.6 |
22 | 22 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | Cosworth | 297.9 | 17.2 |
2013 United States Grand Prix
Image ?é?® Daimler/Hoch Zwei
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
15th November 2013, 23:52
I like one stop races. They still involve staregty, but allow the guys to push.
Brian (@cassmastern)
16th November 2013, 8:03
Agree, but I also did enjoy Spain (when this year’s championship still actually seemed up for grabs) when Ferrari committed to a four-stop with Alonso and just attacked it for the win.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
16th November 2013, 12:30
I absolutely loathed Spain: I thought it was one of the worst races of the Pirelli era as it was perhaps the race most dominated by tyre conservation in many, many years.
Tomsk (@tomsk)
16th November 2013, 9:40
Yep, should be good. Some drivers doing one stop and some doing two, with enough of each to race amongst themselves, is the best for me. Maybe an extra stop for Vettel (puncture or something) to give the others a chance…
It’s a nice change to see a new F1 track being used properly throughout the year (sportscars, bikes and other racing) and to hear that this actually makes the track better!
Chris (@tophercheese21)
15th November 2013, 23:53
Good!
Means we’ll get to see them race flat out.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
16th November 2013, 9:59
And then everyone will complain that they can’t pass.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
15th November 2013, 23:54
Invariably though, the Red Bull’s look comfortably fastest. 8th win is looking pretty handy.
Bosley (@)
16th November 2013, 0:01
Normally the Sauber has a high speed trap but thats quite a difference between the two drivers.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
16th November 2013, 0:03
@bosley the Red Bull’s are fairly high too, and the Ferrari’s pretty low interestingly (considering it’s unlikely the former will have to overtake much and very likely the latter will).
Bosley (@)
16th November 2013, 0:09
@vettel1 It’s all over the shot, who knows who will be the moving blockade on sunday.
svarun (@svarun)
16th November 2013, 1:35
Newey has pulled one out of the box AGAIN!
Earlier Red bull were no where near the top of the speed trap,but now they are.
They now have downforce and even good straight line speed. o_0
And to make everything interesting we have (*Sarcasm*) Pirelli and their great contribution to F1 since 2011.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
16th November 2013, 1:54
@svarun indeed: since Belgium I think this has been the best Red Bull ever, with the best Vettel ever driving it. It’s been a formidable pairing.
Chad (@chaddy)
16th November 2013, 0:33
Today it was palpable how much faster Vettel was getting out of turn 12 compared to anyone else. The second best looking was actually Button who was able to break later than anyone. Very cool
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
16th November 2013, 0:39
Were you in the stands @chaddy or just reasoning from armchair observations like myself?
Chad (@chaddy)
16th November 2013, 0:44
In the stands! I was just chatting with a McLaren mechanic at the hotel and he said he wasn’t surprised Jenson was breaking so late because he really has the feel down on the tires (although he had a nasty lockup in p1). And he probably pronounced it ‘tyres’.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
16th November 2013, 1:24
@chaddy you lucky chap!
I recall seeing the lock-up, although they are pretty common in FP1 so I would say the mechanic’s comments are probably representative. On for a good points finish do you reckon then is Jenson?
Chad (@chaddy)
16th November 2013, 3:13
Yeah I vote on a solid race for McLaren despite expectations. Too bad about the red flag penalty, that was a joke
Michael Brown (@)
16th November 2013, 2:29
This is a welcome change
Aditya (@adityafakhri)
16th November 2013, 2:56
Lotus no longer doing the longest stint anymore. but seeing this as one-stop race, this might be sensible. Red Bull has found sweet spot between straight line speed and downforce, maybe more to come (man, that’s sound scary for others). and everyone stuck behind Force India will have a bad time. if Mercedes ever learnt their lesson, it would be good. Vettel will storms away at start if he got good traction and gear shift, will unlikely to be touched. One stop strategy will potentially produce another grand chelem for him.
what will be more fascinating: battle for 3rd, sadly.
@HoHum (@hohum)
16th November 2013, 3:54
“Battle for 3rd.” as long as it is a real battle without tyre worries who cares about RBR, anyway Webber will probably have some sort of problem to make it a 3-4 way battle for 2nd, 3rd, 4th.
Postreader
16th November 2013, 11:36
If the race was in San Francisco, we would have ultra-liberal tyres.
Mr win or lose
16th November 2013, 13:56
LOL!
Strontium (@strontium)
16th November 2013, 11:59
Bad news. Last year’s race was not that good because of the ultra-conservative tyres :(
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
16th November 2013, 13:00
Erm, wasn’t last year’s race really good?!
I seem to remember it being one of the best of the season..
ayrtonx1
16th November 2013, 19:27
I agree best dry race in the past few years
scuderia_fan85 (@scuderia_fan85)
16th November 2013, 13:04
looking at the race pace and if all goes to plan, should be a one stopper. but also Vettel looks to have the quickest race pace so once again another boring procession; not racing and gonna be a lot of booing. I think they r actually losing money cuz of Vettel and he doesn’t really care. so what does that say about him and his love for F1, looks like his love is really just for winning even if it were(hypothetical) to drive F1 into the ground.
aka_robyn
16th November 2013, 14:11
And what do you suggest would adequately show his love for F1? Intentionally driving more slowly?