Hamilton smashes track record in US Grand Prix
austin — Formula One title favourite Lewis Hamilton shattered the Circuit of the Americas track record on Friday as he dominated practice for a US Grand Prix that could bring him a fourth world championship.
The Mercedes driver had been half a second quicker already than his Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel in a damp opening session and dazzled in the afternoon as the sun made an appearance.
His storming time of one minute 34.668 seconds was the fastest ever at the Texas track and the Briton, winner of four out of five races to date there, was the only driver on the timesheets below the 1:35 mark.
Hamilton, 59 points clear of Vettel with four races and a total of 100 points remaining to be won, took pole in Austin last year with a record lap of 1:34.999.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, fresh from signing a new contract through to the end of 2020, was second fastest in 1:35.065 with Vettel third in 1:35.192. “It’s been an interesting day with lots of ups and downs in terms of how the track has moved around and how the car feels. But overall the car was feeling good,” said Hamilton, who could count on plenty of local support.
Hamilton’s morning time was 1:36.335 seconds on the supersoft tyres. Vettel had a difficult afternoon, spinning into the gravel and complaining that the front of the car felt “like jelly”, a problem that cost him precious track time while mechanics worked on the car.
“It was a messy afternoon and not an easy session but the car is quick so no need to worry,” the German told reporters.
“Obviously we lost a lot of time but you need to take precautions. Now we need to have a good look but I’m sure we’ll have more planned running.” — Printed and Published by Galadari Printing & Publishing (LLC), P.O. Box 11243, Dubai. Telephone: 3383535/ 3384545. Telefax: 3382238/ 3383676. email: sports@khaleejtimes.com Internet Home Page: www.khaleejtimes.com