In the rain, Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in the first practice session of the United States Grand Prix, where he will seek to win his fifth world championship.
The fastest lap of the Mercedes team driver at the Circuit of the Americas was 1 minute and 47.502 seconds. His teammate Valtteri Bottas followed him at 1.3 seconds.
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), who needs to win on Sunday or be within seven points of Hamilton to extend the title fight into the following week in Mexico City, finished fifth in the morning session.
The rain will likely affect the rest of the practice and qualifying before Sunday’s race. The weather forecast points to showers on Saturday and a dry day on Sunday.
The slippery conditions caused numerous spins. The German Vettel went long in a tight corner and Charles Leclerc (Sauber) ended up on the grass. The tires dragged grass onto the track when he re-entered the track, which caused the session to be interrupted for several minutes to proceed with cleaning. Ap