F1: Rosberg Inches Closer to Hamilton in FP2 at the United States Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton kept up his pace in the FP2 session of the United States Grand Prix by setting the fastest lap time of 1:39.085. But Nico Rosberg upped his pace too as both the Mercedes drivers were separated by just 0.003s. Rosberg chose to run on the soft compound tyres which left the pair over a second clear of the rest of the field.

However, Hamilton suffered a hydraulic problem after 18 laps and had to pit and this saw him sit out the rest of the session. Both the Mercedes drivers were the only cars on track to dip below the 1 minutes 40 second mark.

Fernando Alonso saw to it that his drive put his Ferrari in third place with 1.1s off Hamilton's time. Daniel Ricciardo was back on the track after he suffered an ERS issue in FP1 and went fourth quickest. Vettel, however, struggled in the FP2 session as he managed to complete only 19 laps and this saw him in 17th place. However, most of his focus will be on race set-up with Vettel set to sit out qualifying having been hit with a pit lane start for using a sixth complete power unit.

Felipe Massa was 5th fastest with Kimi Raikkonen and Daniil Kvyat following suit. The session ended with a 'virtual safety car' test, with the speed of the cars limited in order to simulate a way of slowing cars through double-waved yellow flag sectors.

The battle between Hamilton and Rosberg will continue over the weekend and it will be interesting to see who triumphs.