EL1 in Austin: Hamilton walks on water

Lewis Hamilton ideally launches his Texan weekend at the end of which the pilot Mercedes can win a 5th world crown. The Briton completes the 5,513km American route in 1'47'502 to beat his teammate Valtter Bottas of 1,304s. 

Once again very comfortable in wet conditions, the Silver Arrows precede the Red Bull de Max Verstappen et Daniel Ricciardo as well as Ferrari de Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. 

The honorary title of best of the rest goes to Carlos Sainz on the best ranked Renault. The Spaniard, who competed in his first Grand Prix among the Yellows and Blacks in Austin last year, got the best of the Haas de Romain Grosjean. 

Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson complete the Top 10 for Sauber. The Monegasque will have caused a brief interruption of the session after an off-piste excursion without damage to his car. However, when returning to the track, Leclerc brought gravel onto the circuit, which caused a red flag.

After starting the session on Maxi-Wet tyres, all the competitors put on Intermediate rubber with green sidewalls. Fernando Alonso (McLaren) signs the 11th time, while Lando Norris, who will start at McLaren in 2019, refines his preparations with a new convincing outing. The Briton finished 12th, two tenths behind the Spaniard.

Pierre Gasly finished 13th for Toro Rosso, four places ahead of his compatriot Esteban Ocon. The Force India driver was initially expected to make way for the reservist Nicholas latifi but the Silverstone team changed their plans just before the weekend kicked off.

Sean Gelael, who enjoyed a new trip with Toro Rosso, brings up the rear more than five seconds behind Hamilton's benchmark. 

The afternoon weather report predicts a slight improvement. Will it have an influence on the Friday hierarchy? Response from 14:00 p.m. (21:00 p.m. French time) with the start of Free Practice 2.

FP1 CLASSIFICATION (90/90 MINS)

The Mercedes pair lead the way, with the Red Bulls and Ferraris in tow#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/8reAoUczqR

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 19, 2018