Sebastien Vettel spearheaded the Formula 1 field in its first session on US soil since 2007. The German banged in a 1:38.125 during the last minutes of the session to put himself in the lead, a massive 1.4 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren.
The 2007 US GP winner looked impressive throughout the session, he eventually settled for 2nd ahead of Fernando Alonso who’s looking to close in on Vettel in the championship this weekend.
Jenson Button and Mark Webber came fifth and sixth respectively, followed by Felipe Massa.
All of the drivers struggled for grip, which is expected on a brand new track like Austin; several drivers went off track, but no major incidents were recorded.
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m38.125 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m39.543s + 1.418s 3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m40.337s + 2.212s 4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m40.528s + 2.403s 5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m40.650s + 2.525s 6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m40.966s + 2.841s 7. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m41.023s + 2.898s 8. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m41.036s + 2.911s 9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m41.159s + 3.034s 10. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m41.473s + 3.348s 11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m41.783s + 3.658s 12. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m41.825s + 3.700s 13. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m41.833s + 3.708s 14. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m41.880s + 3.755s 15. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m41.998s + 3.873s 16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m42.539s + 4.414s 17. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m42.588s + 4.463s 18. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m43.288s + 5.163s 19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m43.443s + 5.318s 20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m43.522s + 5.397s 21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m44.464s + 6.339s 22. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m44.548s + 6.423s 23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m46.917s + 8.792s 24. Ma Qing Hua HRT-Cosworth 1m48.559s + 10.434s