Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton underlined his recent form by clocking the fastest lap during the second practice session for the United States Grand Prix.
In warm and sunny conditions at the Circuit of the Americas, Hamilton, sporting a revised red helmet livery, posted a time of 1:34.668 on the pink-banded Ultrasoft tyres, to finish 0.397s clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Hamilton’s primary title rival Sebastian Vettel finished third, having recovered from an earlier spin on the entry to Turn 19, which pitched him through the gravel.
Valtteri Bottas was unable to match Hamilton’s pace and wound up fourth fastest, ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen.
Fernando Alonso spearheaded the midfield charge for McLaren-Honda as he collected seventh position, a tenth up on Williams’ Felipe Massa.
Force India pair Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon completed the top 10, the duo separated by a mere 0.009s, as their closely-contested 2017 scrap continued.
Carlos Sainz Jr. completed his first on-track day with Renault in 11th position, just 0.005s in front of team-mate Nico Hülkenberg, who missed a substantial portion of the session amid a reliability issue.
Daniil Kvyat returned to Formula 1 action for the first time since Singapore and finished 13th, ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne.
Williams’ Lance Stroll placed 16th after a scruffy effort on Ultrasofts, as Brendon Hartley continued his adjustment to Toro Rosso, his best time 1.2s behind team-mate Kvyat.
Pascal Wehrlein, having sat out the first session in favour of Ferrari protégé Charles Leclerc, was 18th fastest, a tenth clear of Marcus Ericsson, as Romain Grosjean finished at the back of the pack.
Grosjean, having spun during the early stages, was the only driver to clock his best time on the Supersofts, as opposed to the Ultrasofts.
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