F1: Vettel Perseveres In Second Austin Practice

Formula 1

F1: Vettel Perseveres In Second Austin Practice

Sebastian Vettel was rock-solid once again in Friday's second practice at COTA...

Jared Turner | Posted November 16, 2012 Austin, TX

Sebastian Vettel led FP2 at Austin with a lap of 1:37:718. (Image: SPEED)

Sebastian Vettel missed a good portion of Friday's second practice at the new Circuit of the Americas as his team fixed a water-pressure issue on his Red Bull car.

Later, upon returning to the track with some 26 minutes to spare, the World Championship leader didn't miss a beat.

After pacing Friday's opening practice in Austin by more than 1.4 seconds over closest challenger Lewis Hamilton, Vettel (1:37:718) remained stout in Free Practice Two as his RB8 car toured the 3.427-mile course more than three quarters of a second quicker than teammate Mark Webber (1:38:475).

Completing the top five were Vettel's championship rival, Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, and the McLarens of Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Positions six through 10 on the time sheet belonged to Felipe Massa, Nico Rosberg, Bruno Senna, Kamui Kobayashi and Michael Schumacher.

With only Sunday's United States GP and next week's season finale in Brazil left on the 2012 schedule, German Vettel holds a 10-point lead over Spaniard Alonso in the championship standings.

No other driver is mathematically alive in the championship fight.

SPEED's extended, special coverage of Formula One in Austin continues Saturday with Free Practice Three at 10 a.m. ET.

Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.