Mercedes almost two seconds ahead in first practice

The Mercedes drivers occupied their customary position at the top of the times sheets in first practice for the United States Grand Prix, but with an inflated margin over their rivals.

Lewis Hamilton’s best time put him almost two seconds ahead of the closest non-Mercedes driver. He set the pace on soft tyres while third-placed Max Verstappen was 1.9 seconds slower on the mediums. Kimi Raikkonen was a similar gap behind on softs.

The Force India of Nico Hulkenberg appeared in fifth and Valtteri Bottas made it five different teams in the top six at the wheel of his Williams.

Both Toro Rosso drivers made it into the top ten, Daniil Kvyat experiencing a quick spin during his run.

A few drivers hit trouble during the session. Jenson Button was told to pit in the final minutes and Marcus Ericsson slowed with an apparent loss of drive from his power unit.

The Virtual Safety Car was briefly deployed due to debris – one piece shattered Sebastian Vettel’s right-hand wing mirror. Romain Grosjean lost a part from his Haas late in the session, and both he and Esteban Gutierrez stopped at the end of the pits shortly before the session ended. Gutierrez stalled his car and Grosjean found he couldn’t engage first gear.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Car	Best lap	Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1’37.428		25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1’37.743	0.315	27
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull-TAG Heuer	1’39.379	1.951	28
4	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1’39.407	1.979	21
5	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	1’39.712	2.284	27
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	1’39.776	2.348	30
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull-TAG Heuer	1’39.963	2.535	26
8	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1’39.988	2.560	15
9	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1’40.131	2.703	16
10	55	Carlos Sainz Jnr	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1’40.140	2.712	26
11	19	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	1’40.191	2.763	27
12	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber-Ferrari	1’40.287	2.859	16
13	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Honda	1’40.362	2.934	26
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari	1’40.826	3.398	15
15	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas-Ferrari	1’40.970	3.542	15
16	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber-Ferrari	1’41.170	3.742	17
17	34	Alfonso Celis	Force India-Mercedes	1’41.422	3.994	27
18	22	Jenson Button	McLaren-Honda	1’41.663	4.235	21
19	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1’41.942	4.514	22
20	42	Jordan King	Manor-Mercedes	1’42.012	4.584	29
21	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1’42.332	4.904	31
22	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor-Mercedes	1’43.874	6.446	27

First practice visual gaps

Lewis Hamilton – 1’37.428

+0.315 Nico Rosberg – 1’37.743

+1.951 Max Verstappen – 1’39.379

+1.979 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’39.407

+2.284 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’39.712

+2.348 Valtteri Bottas – 1’39.776

+2.535 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’39.963

+2.560 Sebastian Vettel – 1’39.988

+2.703 Daniil Kvyat – 1’40.131

+2.712 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’40.140

+2.763 Felipe Massa – 1’40.191

+2.859 Felipe Nasr – 1’40.287

+2.934 Fernando Alonso – 1’40.362

+3.398 Romain Grosjean – 1’40.826

+3.542 Esteban Gutierrez – 1’40.970

+3.742 Marcus Ericsson – 1’41.170

+3.994 Alfonso Celis – 1’41.422

+4.235 Jenson Button – 1’41.663

+4.514 Kevin Magnussen – 1’41.942

+4.584 Jordan King – 1’42.012

+4.904 Jolyon Palmer – 1’42.332

+6.446 Esteban Ocon – 1’43.874

Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.

2016 United States Grand Prix

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2016 F1 practice sessions

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17 comments on “Mercedes almost two seconds ahead in first practice”

WheelToWheel (@lolzerbob)
21st October 2016, 17:34
King 2 seconds faster than Ocon!
1. The Duke
  21st October 2016, 17:47
  now please inform us of the car set up so we can tell the actual difference between the two drivers/cars.
  if you think FP1 times mean anything to a midfield/bottom end team I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
  1. WheelToWheel (@lolzerbob)
    21st October 2016, 18:07
    It was just a statement, chill out
  2. faulty (@faulty)
    21st October 2016, 19:58
    The Duke, interested.
    Is it burnt or can it take Lewis back to a championship next year?
WheelToWheel (@lolzerbob)
21st October 2016, 17:36
Also as I predicted Celis was rubbish and 12 places down to Hulk. Haas have a nightmare in front of the home crowd, won’t do them any good. And McLaren, you said Suzuka was a one-off…
1. nase
  21st October 2016, 17:45
  Do you always get that excited on a Friday morning?
  Just a hint: If there’s a gap of 2 seconds between team mates in free practice, driver performance is actually the least probable explanation …
  1. The Duke
    21st October 2016, 17:48
    Exactly, but hey, we don’t well informed fans who understand the sport. We want drama! WWF!
2. sm
  21st October 2016, 17:54
  It was a one off. They’re back to their normal position, knocking on the door of the top 10
  1. WheelToWheel (@lolzerbob)
    21st October 2016, 18:07
    Button was 18th
    1. sm
      21st October 2016, 21:44
      First practice hardly means anything anyways. Look where they are in second practice
JackL
21st October 2016, 18:24
Great article! @keithcollantine can you add a column for tyre that the above time was set on in the table above? It would really help. Thanks.
Crashandburn
21st October 2016, 18:48
Hmm 4/10 to MAG..PAL should use all gears now…
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
21st October 2016, 18:54
Hmmm…
2 seconds in FP1. Dayum. But atleast Hamilton is in front like I predicted.
But still 2 seconds…. Howcome? RbR didnt use softs, engine saving by Ferrari? They are good these Mercedes boiz.
MarkM
21st October 2016, 19:06
reading this article you’d think were back to the start of the 2014 season. There is no end in site it seems :-(
1. Todfod (@todfod)
  22nd October 2016, 7:48
  Mercedes have dominated this season more emphatically than 2014. I don’t think I can see another season of this kind of dominance
Jay
21st October 2016, 20:43
Is button using the upgraded engine? Love the site and the comment section!
1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
  21st October 2016, 20:52
  Yes, he fitted it at Suzuka. And thank you!