Serious running was left until the final 15 minutes of FP2, which did not see a car on track until after the halfway stage – Brendon Hartley the man to break the boredom, swiftly followed by Stoffel Vandoorne – both drivers had not taken part in FP1 and might have risked being blocked from entering the race with inclement weather set to affect Saturday too.
There was karaoke in the Red Bull garage, Lando Norris used a drill to assist with a tea round at McLaren, while other ways were found to pass the time.
As the rain eventually faded, a burst of late running ended with a surprise name on top of the timesheets – Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly – until Hamilton emerged for a late run, despite admitting he would “learn nothing” over team radio.
Hamilton clocked 1:48.716 – over a second down on his best time in FP1, but still a second ahead of second-placed Gasly, with Vettel’s running only good enough for 10th.
Attention was drawn away from the track, however, with news before the session that Vettel had been summoned to stewards for speeding under red flags in FP1.
A sanction was not confirmed during the session, but a three-place grid drop seems certain for the German – Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon having picked up identical penalties for the same infraction earlier in the season.
2018 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 Results
1. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 1m48.716s
2. Pierre Gasly FRA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 1.012s
3. Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing + 1.082s
4. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren F1 Team + 3.012s
5. Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault Sport Formula One Team + 3.492s
6. Brendon Hartley NZL Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 4.043s
7. Marcus Ericsson SWE Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team + 4.354s
8. Stoffel Vandoorne BEL McLaren F1 Team + 4.638s
9. Kimi Raikkonen FIN Scuderia Ferrari + 4.727s
10. Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari + 5.196s
11. Charles Leclerc MON Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team + 5.385s
12. Lance Stroll CAN Williams Martini Racing + 5.921s
13. Sergio Perez MEX Racing Point Force India F1 Team + 6.247s
14. Esteban Ocon FRA Racing Point Force India F1 Team + 6.632s
15. Sergey Sirotkin RUS Williams Martini Racing + 6.730s
16. Carlos Sainz Jr. ESP Renault Sport Formula One Team no time
17. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Aston Martin Red Bull Racing no time
18. Romain Grosjean FRA Haas F1 Team no time
19. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas F1 Team no time
20. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport no time
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