Without these problems, Hamilton would be leading the championship rather than trailing Rosberg, who has so far had only one reliability issue affect his points total, costing him three points at the British Grand Prix.
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In a reversal of form from the morning session, championship leader Rosberg lapped almost three tenths quicker than F1 title rival Hamilton during their qualifying simulations on the super-soft Pirelli tyre.
“Free opportunity for me to show my good looks and have fun”, Hamilton said. There’s never a day in my life when I don’t want to win.
Hamilton has been a Texas favorite with his three wins in four years and he returned this year facing a 33-point deficit behind Rosberg in the title chase.
“Last year this race obviously didn’t work out so great for me”, he said. “As we’ve seen so often this year, it has no importance”. It’s great to see so many fans enjoying F1 in the U.S. and coming out to show their support. He may well win here on Sunday – he usually does, having been victorious in three of the four races staged at the Circuit of the Americas.
A bad start proved particularly costly for Hamilton in Japan before he recovered to finish third in a race easily won by Rosberg.
“It’s very technical in terms of braking and positioning”.
“It’s realistic because I think he’s quick enough”, Vettel said. Hamilton’s effort fell short of his team mate’s as he went second with 1m 38.394s, but interestingly Mercedes had split their tyre strategy and he was running the mediums.
In the end, the FIA felt that it needed to speak to both drivers before ruling on the matter, which is why it originally planned to hold a hearing ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
Such negative thoughts I will fully avoid.
Ahead of the 2016 US Grand Prix the son of Finland’s 1982 drivers’ champion, Keke Rosberg, is determined not to let his teammate get the better of him this time.
The Briton dropped to third in the afternoon, 0.291 behind Rosberg, with Red Bull’s Australian Daniel Ricciardo splitting the dominant pair. But neither vehicle was able to challenge the supremacy of Mercedes once qualifying began.
Kimi Raikkonen, who has so often spared with the teenager this year, will be Verstappen’s closest company in fifth.
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“We were eighth yesterday and ninth this morning, but we just messed up with the timing again, and it’s not the first time”, a frustrated Button told Sky Sports.
