58,276 fans enjoy USGP practice sessions

COTA front straight

Despite a foggy start that delayed the first round of Formula 1practice sessions by approximately 40 minutes, 58,276 fans spent their Friday under mostly sunny skies at Circuit of The Americas and welcomed the return of the world’s most popular motorsport to Austin, Texas.

As the clouds broke above, F1drivers were sizzling below, with Scuderia Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso clocking the fastest time of 1:38.343 during practice session one. Reigning World Champion driver Sebastian Vettel of Infiniti Red Bull Racing ruled the time sheets in session two, with a top time of 1:37.305.

Saturday brings qualifying sessions with circuit gates opening at 7:30 a.m. CT.