Nico Rosberg may been pipped to the day’s fastest time by three-thousandths of a second, but the sector data shows he has some time in hand.
Lewis Hamilton set the pace in second practice with a lap of 1’39.085 – but Rosberg’s best sector times would have put him under the 1’39 barrier.
“It looks very close with Nico out there and I’m expecting a very tough battle this weekend,” said Hamilton. He played down his hydraulic problem in the second session as a “small glitch”, adding: “it’s better that it happened today rather than later in the weekend”.
Ferrari took up their usual position as best of the rest on Friday, but fourth-fastest Jenson Button was one of few drivers who failed to improve his time on the soft tyres.
The McLaren driver believes the team can solve the problem. “For some drivers, the softer tyre immediately suits their car’s balance; for others, it doesn’t. It didn’t suit ours this afternoon – but we can work around that. We’ll get it working tomorrow.”
However he will still have to take a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change, which he expects will make for “a difficult weekend”. According to Button, “this isn’t an easy place at which to overtake.”
However Fernando Alonso is expecting more variety in the race strategies due in part to the softer compounds Pirelli have supplied and improved grip levels compared to F1’s previous two visits to the Circuit of the Americas.
“It’s possible the races they had here a few weeks ago helped to clean the track and as far as grip levels were concerned, we didn’t have too many problems,” he said.
“The soft compound seems to last less than expected, but we are well aware how much tyre performance can change as the track evolves. Certainly the race looks like it will be different to past editions, because the likelihood of two stops opens up different strategic possibilities.”
Longest stint comparison – second practice
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 | |
Sebastian Vettel | 104.787 | 104.588 | 104.487 | 104.625 | 104.915 | 104.963 | 104.844 | 105.085 | 105.392 | 105.633 | 106.082 | ||
Daniel Ricciardo | 104.808 | 105.141 | 105.149 | 105.416 | 104.98 | 105.13 | 110.206 | 104.996 | 105.402 | 104.882 | 104.244 | ||
Lewis Hamilton | 110.524 | 100.993 | 115.866 | 100.615 | |||||||||
Nico Rosberg | 104.473 | 104.254 | 104.328 | 104.235 | 104.08 | 106.899 | 104.064 | 104.599 | 108.224 | 105.329 | |||
Fernando Alonso | 105.261 | 104.57 | 104.849 | 104.589 | 104.786 | 105.871 | 106.596 | 106.233 | 106.414 | 106.397 | |||
Kimi Raikkonen | 104.839 | 105.066 | 105.419 | 105.466 | 106.609 | 106.526 | 106.95 | ||||||
Romain Grosjean | 106.063 | 106.17 | 110.113 | 105.714 | 105.718 | 105.244 | 106.449 | 107.528 | |||||
Pastor Maldonado | 106.641 | 106.647 | 106.852 | 107.134 | 110.301 | 107.636 | |||||||
Jenson Button | 104.957 | 104.578 | 105.822 | 107.617 | 105.988 | 105.881 | 105.867 | 113.299 | 105.917 | 106.198 | 106.124 | ||
Kevin Magnussen | 104.73 | 105.461 | 104.722 | 104.813 | 105.283 | 105.653 | 105.603 | 105.818 | 106.569 | 107.083 | 106.856 | ||
Nico Hulkenberg | 103.721 | 104.585 | 104.419 | 104.76 | 105.347 | 105.668 | 106.56 | 106.528 | 106.452 | ||||
Sergio Perez | 104.543 | 105.068 | 104.733 | 105.018 | 105.395 | 105.438 | 105.24 | 105.398 | 105.493 | 105.689 | 105.624 | 108.979 | |
Adrian Sutil | 106.02 | 105.93 | 106.204 | 107.071 | 106.95 | 107.003 | 106.701 | 106.592 | 106.909 | 108.263 | |||
Esteban Gutierrez | 105.512 | 105.714 | 105.914 | 106.36 | 110.692 | 106.272 | 105.91 | 106.582 | |||||
Jean-Eric Vergne | 104.907 | 104.477 | 104.619 | 104.834 | 104.992 | 105.03 | 106.036 | 105.855 | 105.934 | 108.879 | |||
Daniil Kvyat | 105.289 | 104.512 | 104.815 | 104.995 | 104.59 | 104.906 | 105.459 | 106.16 | 106.105 | 105.981 | |||
Felipe Massa | 104.623 | 104.366 | 103.916 | 103.717 | 104.059 | 105.55 | 104.935 | 104.952 | 105.572 | 105.789 | |||
Valtteri Bottas | 105.98 | 104.997 | 104.915 | 105.185 | 105.585 | 105.865 | 106.052 | 105.912 | 107.041 | 106.518 | 106.596 | 108.965 |
Sector times and ultimate lap times – second practice
Pos | No. | Driver | Car | S1 | S2 | S3 | Ultimate | Gap | Deficit to best |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 26.494 (2) | 39.118 (1) | 33.361 (1) | 1’38.973 | 0.115 | |
2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 26.194 (1) | 39.446 (2) | 33.415 (2) | 1’39.055 | 0.082 | 0.030 |
3 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 26.663 (5) | 39.517 (3) | 34.009 (9) | 1’40.189 | 1.216 | 0.000 |
4 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 26.881 (12) | 39.857 (11) | 33.473 (3) | 1’40.211 | 1.238 | 0.179 |
5 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 26.804 (9) | 39.787 (7) | 33.749 (4) | 1’40.340 | 1.367 | 0.203 |
6 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 26.800 (8) | 39.595 (4) | 34.062 (12) | 1’40.457 | 1.484 | 0.000 |
7 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 26.615 (4) | 39.920 (13) | 33.948 (6) | 1’40.483 | 1.510 | 0.158 |
8 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 26.567 (3) | 40.031 (15) | 33.981 (7) | 1’40.579 | 1.606 | 0.119 |
9 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Renault | 26.864 (11) | 39.820 (8) | 33.926 (5) | 1’40.610 | 1.637 | 0.021 |
10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 26.742 (6) | 39.692 (6) | 34.347 (16) | 1’40.781 | 1.808 | 0.019 |
11 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 26.778 (7) | 39.675 (5) | 34.375 (17) | 1’40.828 | 1.855 | 0.000 |
12 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 27.011 (15) | 39.823 (10) | 34.176 (13) | 1’41.010 | 2.037 | 0.113 |
13 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Renault | 26.934 (13) | 40.099 (16) | 33.983 (8) | 1’41.016 | 2.043 | 0.094 |
14 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 26.962 (14) | 40.005 (14) | 34.053 (10) | 1’41.020 | 2.047 | 0.034 |
15 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 26.812 (10) | 40.187 (17) | 34.055 (11) | 1’41.054 | 2.081 | 0.104 |
16 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 27.193 (16) | 39.879 (12) | 34.223 (14) | 1’41.295 | 2.322 | 0.125 |
17 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 27.236 (17) | 39.820 (8) | 34.264 (15) | 1’41.320 | 2.347 | 0.012 |
18 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 27.783 (18) | 41.183 (18) | 34.862 (18) | 1’43.828 | 4.855 | 0.152 |
Speed trap – second practice
# | Driver | Car | Engine | Max speed (kph) | Gap | |
1 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams | Mercedes | 333.1 | |
2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | Mercedes | 331.2 | 1.9 |
3 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | Mercedes | 330.4 | 2.7 |
4 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | Mercedes | 329.2 | 3.9 |
5 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | Renault | 328.7 | 4.4 |
6 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | Mercedes | 328.6 | 4.5 |
7 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren | Mercedes | 327.9 | 5.2 |
8 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 327.8 | 5.3 |
9 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | Ferrari | 326.9 | 6.2 |
10 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | Renault | 325.9 | 7.2 |
11 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | Ferrari | 325.9 | 7.2 |
12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren | Mercedes | 325.3 | 7.8 |
13 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber | Ferrari | 324.9 | 8.2 |
14 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | Ferrari | 324.7 | 8.4 |
15 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | Renault | 324.3 | 8.8 |
16 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | Renault | 323.4 | 9.7 |
17 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | Renault | 321.2 | 11.9 |
18 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | Renault | 303.1 | 30 |
Complete practice times
Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | Total laps | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’39.941 | 1’39.085 | 46 | ||
2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’40.233 | 1’39.088 | 66 | ||
3 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’41.065 | 1’40.189 | 56 | ||
4 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’40.319 | 1’40.698 | 63 | ||
5 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 1’42.598 | 1’40.390 | 35 | ||
6 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1’41.907 | 1’40.457 | 57 | ||
7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’41.965 | 1’40.543 | 55 | ||
8 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’40.887 | 1’40.631 | 67 | ||
9 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’40.987 | 1’40.641 | 67 | ||
10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1’41.722 | 1’40.800 | 49 | ||
11 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1’40.828 | 37 | |||
12 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1’43.229 | 1’41.054 | 57 | ||
13 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’41.110 | 36 | |||
14 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’42.359 | 1’41.123 | 58 | ||
15 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 1’42.329 | 1’41.158 | 65 | ||
16 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’42.333 | 1’41.332 | 56 | ||
17 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’42.516 | 1’41.420 | 58 | ||
18 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’41.463 | 1’43.980 | 39 | ||
19 | Felipe Nasr | Williams-Mercedes | 1’41.545 | 19 | |||
20 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’41.785 | 32 |
2014 United States Grand Prix
- Another close Driver of the Weekend win for Hamilton
- F1 back on form with popular COTA race
- 2014 United States Grand Prix team radio transcript
- 2014 United States Grand Prix fans’ video gallery
- Top ten pictures from the 2014 United States GP
Image © Daimler/Hoch Zwei
Sri Harsha (@harsha)
1st November 2014, 1:35
Is Vettel’s lap done on Race pace??
BasCB (@bascb)
1st November 2014, 6:43
probably. I doubt he is putting much effort in one lap pace, given that he will probably only od a single lap in Q1 to satisfy the 107% rule @harsha
Liam McShane (@)
1st November 2014, 10:31
He doesn’t need to go out in Q1 at all. He has set a representative time in practice and throughout the rest of the year.
dan
1st November 2014, 2:35
Yes because Hamilton’s lap was perfect lol… When are the Mercs 3 tenths sower than each other in a sector?. Rosberg has no excuse doing far more laps in practise he needs to win.
Aldoid
1st November 2014, 3:44
Rosberg can do better, & Lewis’ best time was on tires one lap older, so I think he can find a bit more time too. Qualifying should be pretty close. I hope reliability isn’t a factor in the race. COTA is a good track for battling.
manu
1st November 2014, 5:52
From what it looks, Nico and Lewis are on different downforce levels. Nico is loosing in sector 1 and lewis is loosing in sector 2 consistently. I expect them to try and merge the downforce levels so that the times lost in 1 and 2 are very little.
kedia990
1st November 2014, 7:30
Yep, the speedtrap difference (330.4 ROS vs 327.8 HAM) confirms that Nico is running lower downforce (which is helping him in the long straight of S2 but hurting him in S1, and the opposite for HAM).
Patrickl (@patrickl)
1st November 2014, 11:50
Maybe Rosberg even changed his setup during practice. Adding up best sector times over a whole session can be very deceiving.
Glimiril (@glimiril)
1st November 2014, 10:09
I think it would be good for Rosberg to get poll here, as I still don’t trust he will act in a sporting manner at turn 1 from behind, if Hamilton is in second and takes a more inside line, even if Rosberg closes him off , he risks taking himself out. Then we may see a good race between the two after that.
Looking forward to a good battle but fair one.
Glimiril (@glimiril)
1st November 2014, 10:18
Just to add, Rosberg cannot afford to see Hamilton, run off with this race, if he does that is 24 points difference (assuming Rosberg comes second) and even if Rosberg wins last 2 races and Hamilton comes second, Hamilton wins. So something has to happen to Hamilton in above scenario. Plus there is a reduced chance of safety car, less cars and a track that has many run off areas.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
1st November 2014, 10:46
Rosberg’s ability to sneak a pole position past the unilaterally agreed fastest racing driver in the world has been proven, but I would argue that Nico was superior in race trim at just two races this year, Spain and Bahrain; and who won those races? In order for Nico to win his first Grand Prix since Hockenheim, nearly half a season ago, he needs to refind his earlier season form on the prime tyre and stop himself being so phenomenally vulnerable to Lewis, as he was at Silverstone and Monza, early in the stint. Overtaking is very possible at Austin, and even if Rosberg leads the first stint, it is paramount to his title challenge that at least matches Lewis on prime, because if Lewis wins this races he can follow Nico home in the remaining races and still take the title.
kpcart
1st November 2014, 12:15
unilaterally agreed fastest driver in the world?? hardly. he is top 4 in F1, but he has made far too many mistakes in his career, and facts like button scoring more points then him at McLaren and Rosberg keeping up with him in a championship fight show that he is the fastest only in the minds of his fans.
TED
1st November 2014, 15:13
Button outscored him in only on of the three seasons they were together and let’s not forget HAM’s qualifying sessions in Germany and Hungary…your point about ROS keeping up is absurd considering ROS is a good driver
LB
1st November 2014, 17:51
That’s why we watch the races/ quali. Rosberg could easily outpoint Hamilton this season if Hamilton fails to finish in Abu Dhabi. That’s the problem with stats, you need to add context.
Sham (@sham)
1st November 2014, 10:47
I don’t think anyone doubts Rosberg is fast. However, we all know he can’t beat Hamilton on the track, assuming both cars are healthy, without being a bit dirty about it.
kpcart
1st November 2014, 12:01
what I notice throughout this season, is that Hamilton is quicker then rosberg straight out when the practise sessions start, but rosberg makes up more team in each session up to q3 then Hamilton does. that can be for 2 reasons – 1. Hamilton isn’t as good at setting up his car, but relies on his raw pace or 2. Hamilton is hitting the limit of the cars speed earlier in the weekend so can no build up as much as the weekend goes along.
activewings (@activewings)
1st November 2014, 14:34
The McLarens are very fast through sector 1 (3,4) and then they are slower in sector 2 (13,15) and then back up in the 3rd sector (6,7)
IDR (@idr)
1st November 2014, 14:37
I’m not quite sure about those “ultimate lap times”. It is supposed that best of each sector can be combined in a “perfect lap”, but I think that there could be some problems in taking the perfect time of the following sector having made the previous one at “perfect or maximum speed”. We have seen in the past in many occasions drivers making terrific times up to the moment the made an error, and in some occasions that error was a consequence of the speed they were performing previously. So, at the end, I do not see this ultimate lap as a lost opportunity for the driver. Maybe there were no chance to concatenate the 3 sectors with this timing, maybe the perfect trajectory (or line) for S1 that gives you an optimum time, is not the perfect one for starting your second sectors loosing more time in the second than the gains you have obtained in the first. So, at the end, I have not seen the practice, but unless it is clear for everybody Rosberg has made a clear error in one of the sectors, is not possible to determine that he was able to beat Hamilton just having a look at his “ultimate” time.