Sebastian Vettel Leads The Way After Opening Practice At Austin

Sebastian Vettel has ended the opening practice session fastest ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, after the drivers took to the brand-new Circuit of the Americas for the first time ever. The McLaren of Lewis Hamilton was 2nd, with Championship contender Fernando Alonso a distant 3rd.

After much anticipation, the first official session around the new Circuit of the Americas began in glorious sunshine and chilly weather conditions. There was only one driver change for the opening practice session of the weekend, as HRT’s development driver Ma Qing Hua replaced Narain Karthikeyan alongside Pedro de la Rosa for the opening 90 minutes.

Kimi Raikkonen was the first driver to take to the Circuit of the Americas, in doing so making history. The Finn was immediately followed out by many other drivers, including Marussia’s Timo Glock and Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi, all of whom made minor mistakes almost immediately due to the tricky track conditions. With the Circuit of the Americas having never been raced upon, the track was incredibly dusty and ‘green’, providing the drivers with a tricky opening practice session.

Slight concerns were raised in the early stages of the session, when smoke was seen ominously emanating from the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher after the German had completed his installation lap. However, the issue was quickly addressed by the team, and Schumacher was instantly back in the car, ready to go.

The early pace in the session was set by the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi, with a rather slow 01:54.846. However, the Japanese driver was quickly able to improve upon his time, with a 01:48.517. Mark Webber instantly challenged Kobayashi’s dominance, and the duo became locked in a battle for supremacy at the top of the timing sheets. Eventually it was Mark Webber who emerged as the fastest driver on the circuit, setting several blistering lap times which eventually saw the Red Bull driver set a 01:43.672 as the track conditions gradually improved.

Lewis Hamilton then surged to the top of the timing sheets with an impressive 01:42.603, before Championship contender Fernando Alonso asserted his authority over proceedings with a 01:42.538 for Ferrari. Nico Hulkenberg made several minor errors as he pushed to the limits around the new track, as the German driver spun at both Turn 1 and Turn 13. Lewis Hamilton momentarily rose to the top, before Fernando Alonso returned to the top with a 01:40.603.

However, Lewis Hamilton was quick to once again storm to the top of the timings sheets, as Heikki Kovalainen spun at Turn 9. The McLaren of Hamilton continued to improve at the top of the timings sheets, as Mark Webber became the latest driver to spin as he made a minor mistake at Turn 8. Lewis Hamilton became the first driver to dip beneath the 01:40s as the session entered its closing stages, with a 01:39.543 being his personal best.

Despite Lewis Hamilton’s dominance throughout the latter half of the session, reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel eventually rose to the top with a sensational 01:38.692. This time raised many eyebrow within the paddock, however the German was not finished yet, as he set a stunning 01:38.125 as the checkered flag emerged signaling the end of the opening session.

The teams and drivers will return to the Circuit of the Americas later in the day for the second practice session, as they continue to gain valuable track knowledge. Both Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel already look comfortable around the new circuit, as they continue squabbling for the Championship.

Pos  Driver              Team                   Time                 Laps
 1.  Sebastian Vettel    Red Bull-Renault       1m38.125              30
 2.  Lewis Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes       1m39.543s  + 1.418s   28
 3.  Fernando Alonso     Ferrari                1m40.337s  + 2.212s   29
 4.  Jenson Button       McLaren-Mercedes       1m40.528s  + 2.403s   29
 5.  Mark Webber         Red Bull-Renault       1m40.650s  + 2.525s   30
 6.  Felipe Massa        Ferrari                1m40.966s  + 2.841s   26
 7.  Nico Hulkenberg     Force India-Mercedes   1m41.023s  + 2.898s   29
 8.  Kamui Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari         1m41.036s  + 2.911s   28
 9.  Nico Rosberg        Mercedes               1m41.159s  + 3.034s   32
10.  Sergio Perez        Sauber-Ferrari         1m41.473s  + 3.348s   29
11.  Paul di Resta       Force India-Mercedes   1m41.783s  + 3.658s   29
12.  Daniel Ricciardo    Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m41.825s  + 3.700s   28
13.  Jean-Eric Vergne    Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m41.833s  + 3.708s   29
14.  Kimi Raikkonen      Lotus-Renault          1m41.880s  + 3.755s   23
15.  Romain Grosjean     Lotus-Renault          1m41.998s  + 3.873s   27
16.  Pastor Maldonado    Williams-Renault       1m42.539s  + 4.414s   30
17.  Michael Schumacher  Mercedes               1m42.588s  + 4.463s   25
18.  Charles Pic         Marussia-Cosworth      1m43.288s  + 5.163s   23
19.  Heikki Kovalainen   Caterham-Renault       1m43.443s  + 5.318s   28
20.  Vitaly Petrov       Caterham-Renault       1m43.522s  + 5.397s   23
21.  Timo Glock          Marussia-Cosworth      1m44.464s  + 6.339s   24
22.  Bruno Senna         Williams-Renault       1m44.548s  + 6.423s   29
23.  Pedro de la Rosa    HRT-Cosworth           1m46.917s  + 8.792s   13
24.  Ma Qing Hua         HRT-Cosworth           1m48.559s  + 10.434s  19

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