The second practice session in rainy Austin looked set to be a damp squib until Lewis Hamilton emerged for a 10-minute period that underlined why he is poised to win his fifth Formula One title at a circuit he routinely dominates.
With the surface sodden and slow it looked doubtful that Hamilton would even leave the garage. But with only a few minutes left on Friday he immediately set the fastest lap by a second, three seconds better than his title rival, Sebastian Vettel.
“You know when you tell me to go steady I’m not going to go steady,” the 33-year-old said on the team radio as he briskly returned to the pits.
Moments after that statement of intent it emerged that the stewards had imposed a three-place grid penalty on Vettel, nudging the world champion closer to the title.
Hamilton was also fastest during opening practice by about 1.3 seconds ahead of his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, with Vettel down in fifth in his Ferrari.
Vettel’s punishment for his latest error just as Hamilton demonstrated his superiority felt telling before Sunday’s race.
The German was summoned to see the stewards after failing to slow sufficiently during a red flag period in the first practice to allow for gravel to be cleared off the track. While consistent with previous rulings for similar offences, the outcome threatens to decrease the drama on Sunday.
A best-case scenario for Vettel will see him qualify in fourth, but to keep his faint title hopes alive he can ill afford to finish below Hamilton.
Vettel criticised the decision. “I think I slowed down, I had a good look around at what was going on. The rules are clear so we know,” he told reporters.” It is the first time we had this in the wet, where the target is a lot slower.”
After several days of heavy rain that have caused severe flooding in towns west of Austin, the surface at the Texan capital’s circuit was slippery under granite, drizzly skies during first practice.
Hamilton has been at pains this week to stress the importance of avoiding complacency. “The weather is up and down, our goal is really just to perform as we have in previous races, we’re not thinking of it in any other way,” he said.
Pictured standing outside the Nasdaq site in Times Square earlier this week for a photo opportunity, Hamilton currently looks a far more reliable bet than the stock market.
He is 67 points clear of Vettel with four races remaining and since the summer has been in form as imperious as the Ferrari driver’s has been indifferent.
Hamilton’s triumph at Suzuka on 7 October was his sixth win in the past seven races and he has won the past four in Austin.
Aware that most of the US is largely unaware or uninterested, the US Grand Prix’s pop concerts are promoted almost as heavily as the race itself. For many spectators the event is defined not by Hamilton or Vettel but singers such as Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake.
This year Britney Spears and Bruno Mars will perform on a large stage between turn 11 and turn 12. “We want people to understand that F1 is entertainment in the broadest sense,” Sean Bratches, F1’s commercial managing director, said in an interview for the official F1 newsletter.Lando Norris, the Bristol-born 18-year-old who will make his race debut in 2019, was 12th fastest for McLaren in first practice as he stood in for Stoffel Vandoorne.
