Sebastian Vettel dominated the timesheets in Texas on Friday, throwing down a huge gauntlet to title rival Fernando Alonso and the rest of the Formula 1 field. It was not a completely trouble-free day, however, as the German was affected by a water leak.
At the end of first practice, it was the car of team-mate Mark Webber which spouted water from its left sidepod. In the afternoon, Vettel became stranded in the pits after being instructed to come in, but then returned to the track and posted the quickest time.
“We had a bit of a problem in the afternoon, so we didn’t get as much running in as we would have liked,” he explained, having managed 17 laps and barely half of Webber’s sum. “Nevertheless, we got into a rhythm very quickly and did have two good runs, so we are well prepared for tomorrow. You just have to be careful because it was so slippery today.”
Vettel added that the ‘track will improve’, allowing himself and Red Bull to ‘improve and see where we go from there’. If he does become a triple Champion on Sunday, the Heppenheim man will match a feat previously achieved by Juan Manuel Fangio, Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nélson Piquet, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.
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How Vettel can claim Germany’s tenth F1 title in Texas:
- By winning the race with Alonso fifth or lower
- By finishing second with Alonso ninth or lower
- By finishing third with Alonso 11th or lower
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:37.718 | 17 |
| 2. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:38.475 | 36 |
| 3. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:38.483 | 35 |
| 4. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:38.748 | 31 |
| 5. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:38.786 | 32 |
| 6. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:39.029 | 33 |
| 7. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:39.448 | 32 |
| 8. | B. Senna | Williams | 01:39.531 | 38 |
| 9. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 01:39.653 | 36 |
| 10. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 01:40.115 | 30 |
| Full results | ||||
| Sebastian Vettel | |||
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| More Sebastian Vettel photos | |||
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