Hamilton remains on top in disrupted FP2 session

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Lousy weather continued to hit the Austin region on Friday afternoon, impacting the running of the US Grand Prix's second free practice session.

Only three laps conducted in the closing stages of FP2 were necessary for Lewis Hamilton to remain at the top of the timesheet, the Mercedes driver achieving his 1m48.716 lap on intermediate tyres, while Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen completed the top three.

United States Grand Prix - Free Practice 2 times

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:48.716s		3
2	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:49.728s	+ 1.012s	10
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:49.798s	+ 1.082s	5
4	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:51.728s	+ 3.012s	3
5	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:52.208s	+ 3.492s	6
6	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:52.505s	+ 3.789s	19
7	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:53.070s	+ 4.354s	9
8	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:53.354s	+ 4.638s	10
9	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:53.443s	+ 4.727s	7
10	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:53.912s	+ 5.196s	8
11	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:54.101s	+ 5.385s	9
12	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:54.637s	+ 5.921s	5
13	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:54.963s	+ 6.247s	6
14	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:55.348s	+ 6.632s	6
15	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:55.446s	+ 6.730s	8
16	Carlos Sainz	Renault			2

Risky track conditions and teams likely saving their limited wet-weather tyres meant that everyone remained confined to the comfort of their garage during the first 50 minutes of the day's second free practice session.

Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley was the first driver to kick up some water, followed by McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne who was understandably eager to get at least a few laps under his belt after sitting out FP1 for the benefit of his 2019 successor, Lando Norris.

Kimi Raikkonen and both Williams drivers made it five cars out on track, soon joined by Sauber duo Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson, and Hatley's team mate Pierre Gasly.

US Grand Prix: Friday's action in pictures

The group kept it sensible as it navigated COTA's treacherous waters, with Gasly heading the timesheet with a 1m53.295.

As the rain let up in the closing stages of the session, more drivers added to the action, but any quest for performance was vain, even for those fitted with Pirelli's inters.

The day's running concluded with Hamilton topping the time sheet once again, a cool 1 second in front of Gasly, but the limited running - mainly due to the limited number of tyres - no doubt frustrated the many F1 fans that braved the poor Texas weather.

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Michael Delaney