{"id":6605,"date":"2018-10-19T23:35:25","date_gmt":"2018-10-20T03:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=6605"},"modified":"2018-10-19T23:35:25","modified_gmt":"2018-10-20T03:35:25","slug":"united-states-gp-takeaways-from-friday-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2018\/10\/19\/united-states-gp-takeaways-from-friday-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"United States GP \u2013 Takeaways from Friday Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A rain-hit Saturday seems to be what exactly <strong>Mercedes<\/strong> and <strong>Lewis Hamilton<\/strong> needed to begin the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2018\/10\/19\/united-states-gp-history-stats-circuit-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><strong>Formula 1<\/strong> <strong>United States GP<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>weekend. The championship leader, who is looking to clinch his fifth wprld drivers&#8217; championship this weekend at <b>Austin<\/b>, led Friday with stellar performances on a wet Circuit Of The Americas<b> (COTA)<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>The British driver led his teammate <strong>Valtteri Bottas<\/strong> in FP1 with a 1.3-second margin and was 1 second quicker than <strong>Toro Rosso<\/strong>&#8216;s <strong>Pierre Gasly<\/strong> in the afternoon, with heavier rain causing most of the drivers to set their fastest laps near the end of the session.<\/p>\n<h1>Takeaways from Friday Practice<\/h1>\n<p>Both\u00a0free practice sessions were in wet conditions, FP2 had less on-track action but was significant too. As both Mercedes cars were able to put fastest lap times in shorter stints in both sessions, Ferrari struggled throughout the day.<\/p>\n<p>The Pirelli tyre choice for this race, for dry conditions, are the yellow-striped soft tyre, the red-striped supersoft\u00a0tyre, and the purple-striped ultrasoft tyre.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sebastian Vettel<\/strong> had a difficult day. The German finished fifth and tenth in FP1 and FP2, respectively. <strong>Kimi Raikkonen<\/strong>, in the other Ferrari, was sixth and ninth in the two practice sessions.<\/p>\n<p>Vettel&#8217;s weekend is heavily compromised after he was handed a three-place grid penalty for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.formula1.com\/en\/latest\/article.vettel-gets-three-place-grid-penalty-after-red-flag-incident.5SHDwecvJeiSsyCigSqA42.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">failing to slow down sufficiently under red-flag condition<\/a><\/strong> after <strong>Charles Leclerc<\/strong> spun off the track and forced a red flag during FP1.<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"><ins id=\"aswift_1_expand\"><ins id=\"aswift_1_anchor\"><\/ins><\/ins><\/ins><\/p>\n<h4>The main takeaways from the two practice sessions were:<\/h4>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Ferrari is struggling to find pace in wet conditions, which might cause bigger problems for Saturday&#8217;s qualifying since it is expected to be under wet conditions.<\/li>\n<li>Vettel must look for an unlikely fastest time on Saturday to start the race a minimum in fourth place. Ferrari has not shown great speed, but the Italian squad might turn things around for qualifying, as they have done many times during the course of the season.<\/li>\n<li>Hamilton seems to be in control of his car and looks dominating. The English driver only had nine laps during the two Friday sessions and stamped his authority on the timesheets.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Red Bull<\/strong> was strong on Friday. <strong>Max Verstappen<\/strong> was third in FP1 and FP2.<strong> Daniel Ricciardo<\/strong> only had timed laps in FP1 and marked the fourth fastest time of the session.<\/li>\n<li>Gasly was the welcomed surprise of the day. After not competing in last year&#8217;s race at Austin due to his duties in the Japanese Super Formula Championship, the Frenchman finished a strong second place in FP2 behind Hamilton.<\/li>\n<li>McLaren&#8217;s <strong>Fernando Alonso<\/strong> was great during FP2 and put his car in fourth place after reaching the eleventh spot in FP1. Lando Norris took part in FP1 and ended up 12th, while Stoffel Vandoorne was eighth in FP2.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Force India<\/strong>\u00a0did not do well.\u00a0<strong>Esteban Ocon<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Sergio P\u00e9rez<\/strong>\u00a0could not reach the top ten in any of the two sessions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sauber<\/strong>&#8216;s<strong> Marcus Ericsson <\/strong>and Leclerc had a solid day. Ericsson was tenth and seventh respectively. The Monegasque finished ninth and 11th during the two events.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Renault<\/strong> had two good results, one by each of their drivers in each of the two sessions. In FP1, <strong>Carlos Sainz<\/strong> went seventh fastest, while <strong>Nico Hulkenberg<\/strong> took fifth place in FP2.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Last Word<\/h2>\n<div class=\"td-g-rec td-g-rec-id-content_inlineright\">Hamilton needs to outscore Vettel by eight points to seal his fifth world title, the second in a row and the fourth in five years. Looking at the way the weekend started and especially with Vettel&#8217;s penalty, it looks like the British driver will be able to clinch his fifth championship. However, the checkered flag is still far away.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2>Results of FP1:<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<table class=\"resultsarchive-table\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th><abbr title=\"Position\">POS<\/abbr><\/th>\n<th class=\"hide-for-mobile\"><abbr title=\"Number\">NO<\/abbr><\/th>\n<th>DRIVER<\/th>\n<th class=\"hide-for-tablet\">CAR<\/th>\n<th>TIME<\/th>\n<th>GAP<\/th>\n<th>LAPS<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">1<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">44<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Lewis<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Hamilton<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">MERCEDES<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:47.502<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">2<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">77<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Valtteri<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Bottas<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">MERCEDES<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:48.806<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+1.304<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">3<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">33<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Max<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Verstappen<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:48.847<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+1.345<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">4<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">3<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Daniel<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Ricciardo<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:49.326<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+1.824<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">5<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">5<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Sebastian<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Vettel<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">FERRARI<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:49.489<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+1.987<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">18<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">6<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">7<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Kimi<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">FERRARI<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:49.928<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+2.426<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">7<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">55<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Carlos<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Sainz<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">RENAULT<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:50.665<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+3.163<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">8<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">8<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Romain<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Grosjean<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">HAAS FERRARI<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:50.821<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+3.319<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">9<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">16<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Charles<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Leclerc<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">SAUBER FERRARI<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:50.961<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+3.459<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">10<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">9<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Marcus<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Ericsson<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">SAUBER FERRARI<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:51.016<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+3.514<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">11<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">14<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Fernando<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Alonso<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">MCLAREN RENAULT<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:51.036<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+3.534<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">12<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">47<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Lando<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Norris<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">MCLAREN RENAULT<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:51.232<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+3.730<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">13<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">10<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Pierre<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Gasly<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:51.234<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+3.732<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">19<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">14<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">11<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Sergio<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Perez<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">FORCE INDIA MERCEDES<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:51.459<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+3.957<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">18<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">15<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">35<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Sergey<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Sirotkin<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">WILLIAMS MERCEDES<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:51.589<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+4.087<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">16<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">20<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Kevin<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Magnussen<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">HAAS FERRARI<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:51.614<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+4.112<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">17<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">31<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Esteban<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Ocon<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">FORCE INDIA MERCEDES<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:51.655<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+4.153<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">18<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">27<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Nico<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Hulkenberg<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">RENAULT<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:51.717<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+4.215<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">19<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">18<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Lance<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Stroll<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">WILLIAMS MERCEDES<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:51.896<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+4.394<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">20<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">38<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Sean<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Gelael<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:52.625<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+5.123<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">21<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Results of FP2:<\/h2>\n<table class=\"resultsarchive-table\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th><abbr title=\"Position\">POS<\/abbr><\/th>\n<th class=\"hide-for-mobile\"><abbr title=\"Number\">NO<\/abbr><\/th>\n<th>DRIVER<\/th>\n<th class=\"hide-for-tablet\">CAR<\/th>\n<th>TIME<\/th>\n<th>GAP<\/th>\n<th>LAPS<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">1<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">44<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Lewis<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Hamilton<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">MERCEDES<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:48.716<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">2<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">10<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Pierre<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Gasly<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:49.728<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+1.012<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">3<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">33<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Max<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Verstappen<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:49.798<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+1.082<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">4<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">14<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Fernando<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Alonso<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">MCLAREN RENAULT<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:51.728<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+3.012<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">5<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">27<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Nico<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Hulkenberg<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">RENAULT<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:52.208<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+3.492<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">6<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">28<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Brendon<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Hartley<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:52.505<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+3.789<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">19<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">7<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">9<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Marcus<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Ericsson<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">SAUBER FERRARI<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:53.070<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+4.354<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">8<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">2<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Stoffel<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Vandoorne<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">MCLAREN RENAULT<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:53.354<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+4.638<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">9<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">7<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Kimi<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">FERRARI<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:53.443<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+4.727<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">10<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">5<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Sebastian<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Vettel<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">FERRARI<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:53.912<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+5.196<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">11<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">16<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Charles<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Leclerc<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">SAUBER FERRARI<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:54.101<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+5.385<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">12<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">18<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Lance<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Stroll<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">WILLIAMS MERCEDES<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:54.637<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+5.921<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">13<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">11<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Sergio<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Perez<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">FORCE INDIA MERCEDES<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:54.963<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+6.247<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">14<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">31<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Esteban<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Ocon<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">FORCE INDIA MERCEDES<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:55.348<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+6.632<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">15<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">35<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Sergey<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Sirotkin<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">WILLIAMS MERCEDES<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">1:55.446<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\">+6.730<span class=\"suffix seconds\">s<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dark\">16<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark hide-for-mobile\">55<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><span class=\"hide-for-tablet\">Carlos<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"hide-for-mobile\">Sainz<\/span><\/td>\n<td class=\"semi-bold uppercase hide-for-tablet\">RENAULT<\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><\/td>\n<td class=\"dark bold\"><\/td>\n<td class=\"bold\">2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>MAIN PHOTO:<br \/>\n<a id=\"-Cx_bf1OSMdx9KC9tzcQ1A\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.in\/detail\/1052554852\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'-Cx_bf1OSMdx9KC9tzcQ1A',sig:'PaTNhJ9wRGsgBTcjzE0cRqbILOKMH5kOcIfUWdZSiyY=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1052554852',caption: true ,tld:'in',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A rain-hit Saturday seems to be what exactly Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton needed to begin the Formula 1 United States GP\u00a0weekend. The championship leader, who is looking to clinch his fifth wprld drivers&#8217; championship this weekend at Austin, led Friday with stellar performances on a wet Circuit Of The Americas (COTA). The British driver led [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2449,"featured_media":6609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[424,732,68,84,76,121,78,117,284],"class_list":["post-6605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-2018-formula-one-season","tag-cota","tag-f1","tag-ferrari","tag-lewis-hamilton","tag-mercedes","tag-red-bull-racing","tag-sebastian-vettel","tag-us-grand-prix"],"modified_by":"Sudha Sundar","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2449"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}