Vettel vows to approach Saturday ‘as a normal day’

Sebastian Vettel claims Ferrari will approach Saturday “as a normal day” despite Austin weather forecast announcing similar conditions to those that led to the cancellation of FP2.

Rain had been expected on the opening day of free practice for the United States and FP1 started after early downpours. Track conditions improved rather quickly though, and drivers switched to Pirelli’s intermediate tyres after only a few runs on full wets.

However, the worst of the rain hit in the early afternoon, with thunderstorms and lightning confining teams and drivers to their garages for nearly one hour before the session was officially called off.

Much uncertainty surrounds the remainder of the weekend schedule, but Vettel insists he and his team must stay the course.

“We will remain calm and prepare the day tomorrow as a normal day and then see with the conditions what the day brings,” said the four-time world champion.

“It’s obviously a shame we didn’t get hardly any running today but everyone is in the same situation.

“It’s a shame for the people that came out to see us on track because there was not much to see.

“I have no problem racing in the rain, but if there’s that much rain then we cannot drive. It’s obviously a bit tricky because there is too much water, so we have to wait until tomorrow and there should be another big day for the weather and then Sunday probably it looks a lot better.”

• Weather not a factor in Ferrari engine plan - Raikkonen

Vettel enters the USGP weekend as Lewis Hamilton’s closest challenger in the Drivers’ championship, but the German will have to serve a 10-place grid penalty for using Ferrari’s upgraded power unit.

Team principal Maurizio Arrivabene had said in Russia that the team had been weighing the pros and cons of introducing a new engine specification in Texas lest it might dash Vettel’s final hopes to fight for the title. The 28-year-old claims his squad made the right call in the end.

“I don’t think it’s a problem. It’s the plan and it’s always been the plan, so it’s wrong to point at this race and say that it’s a shame because it has been part of our plan and we’ve had all the advantages already and now we have to take the penalty into account.”

Technical analysis: Exclusive pictures of the 2015 Honda power unit

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