Mercedes dominated Formula One’s practice 1 Friday for the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.
Lewis Hamilton, second in the world championship standings, posted a fast lap of 1:37.428 to lead the way.
His teammate Nico Rosberg, who leads the season points race by 33 with four races to go, closed the gap on Hamilton late. Rosberg put up the second-best time with a 1:37.743.
The session was run under blue skies, temperatures in the low-to-mid 60s and north winds approaching 15 mph.
There was quite a gap after the Mercedes men.
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen was a distant third with a top time of 1:39.379 — nearly a full two seconds off Hamilton’s torrid pace. Verstappen is a 19-year-old from Holland who is fifth in the season standings.
The Silver Arrows of Mercedes were on soft tires. Verstappen was on medium tires.
Kimi Raikkonen of Scuderia Ferrari had the No. 4 time, fractions behind Verstappen, followed by Nico Hulkenberg and Valtteri Bottas.
Haas F1 Team, the first U.S.-owned group in the sport in 30 years, was further back. Romain Grosjean checked in at No. 14 with a 1:40.826, and Esteban Gutierrez was 15th at 1:40.970.
Two drivers dealt with spinouts on turn 18. Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso Ferrari recovered from his problem to post the No. 9 time on the grid, and Jolyon Palmer of Renault was far back at 21st among 22 drivers.
