Lewis Hamilton set the pace for Mercedes in the first practice session of the United States Grand Prix weekend at the Circuit of the Americas.
The Mercedes driver put in a 1m37.428 mid-way through the session on the super-soft tyre, finishing three tenths clear of team-mate and championship leader Nico Rosberg.
Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari and the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg – who confirmed his switch to Renault for 2017 earlier in the week.
Valtteri Bottas ended the 90-mintue session in sixth, with Daniel Ricicardo, Sebastian Vettel and the Toro Rossos of Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz Jr. rounding out the top 10.
Felipe Massa and Felipe Nasr were 11th and 12th respectively. Fernando Alonso finished 13th for McLaren, with Haas F1’s Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez next up at the team’s home event.
Marcus Ericsson suffered a power unit problem in the final third of the session and was down in 16th, while Jenson Button also experienced issues with his car and Jolyon Palmer finished down in 21st, having suffered a spin in the early stages.
Development drivers Alfonso Celis Jr. and Jordan King drove for Force India and Manor, ending the session 17th and 20th.
