Sebastian Vettel has dominated the opening practice sessions for the inaugural United States Grand Prix at the new Circuit of the Americas facility.
The Red Bull Racing star was the clear leader, beating Lewis Hamilton in the first session by almost 1.5 seconds, before leading Red Bull Racing team-mate Mark Webber by 0.75s.
Vettel set his time in the second session when conditions were at their best, with the track temperature up as high as 30 degrees, compared to the 18 degrees of the morning session.
The speed of the German is a worrying sign for his rivals, particularly title rival Fernando Alonso, with Vettel in a position to wrap up the crown in the penultimate round this weekend.
Alonso was a close third to Webber in the second session ahead of the McLaren pair of Hamilton and Jenson Button.
Felipe Massa, Nico Rosberg, Bruno Senna, Kamui Kobayashi and Michael Schumacher, competing in his second last F1 race.
Practice 1
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time/Retired | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:38.125 | 30 | |
| 2 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:39.543 | 1.418 | 28 |
| 3 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:40.337 | 2.212 | 29 |
| 4 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:40.528 | 2.403 | 29 |
| 5 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:40.650 | 2.525 | 30 |
| 6 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:40.966 | 2.841 | 26 |
| 7 | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:41.023 | 2.898 | 29 |
| 8 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:41.036 | 2.911 | 28 |
| 9 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:41.159 | 3.034 | 32 |
| 10 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:41.473 | 3.348 | 29 |
| 11 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:41.783 | 3.658 | 29 |
| 12 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:41.825 | 3.700 | 28 |
| 13 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:41.833 | 3.708 | 29 |
| 14 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:41.880 | 3.755 | 23 |
| 15 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:41.998 | 3.873 | 27 |
| 16 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:42.539 | 4.414 | 30 |
| 17 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:42.588 | 4.463 | 25 |
| 18 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:43.288 | 5.163 | 23 |
| 19 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:43.443 | 5.318 | 28 |
| 20 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:43.522 | 5.397 | 23 |
| 21 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:44.464 | 6.339 | 24 |
| 22 | 19 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1:44.548 | 6.423 | 29 |
| 23 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:46.917 | 8.792 | 13 |
| 24 | 23 | Qing Hua Ma | HRT-Cosworth | 1:48.559 | 10.434 | 19 |
Practice 2
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time/Retired | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:37.718 | 17 | |
| 2 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:38.475 | 0.757 | 36 |
| 3 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:38.483 | 0.765 | 35 |
| 4 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:38.748 | 1.030 | 31 |
| 5 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:38.786 | 1.068 | 32 |
| 6 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:39.029 | 1.311 | 33 |
| 7 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:39.448 | 1.730 | 32 |
| 8 | 19 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1:39.531 | 1.813 | 38 |
| 9 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:39.653 | 1.935 | 36 |
| 10 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:40.115 | 2.397 | 30 |
| 11 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:40.166 | 2.448 | 32 |
| 12 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:40.230 | 2.512 | 35 |
| 13 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:40.286 | 2.568 | 32 |
| 14 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:40.326 | 2.608 | 35 |
| 15 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:40.435 | 2.717 | 30 |
| 16 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:40.516 | 2.798 | 32 |
| 17 | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:40.700 | 2.982 | 34 |
| 18 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:41.430 | 3.712 | 35 |
| 19 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:42.476 | 4.758 | 38 |
| 20 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:42.652 | 4.934 | 33 |
| 21 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:42.846 | 5.128 | 38 |
| 22 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:43.538 | 5.820 | 38 |
| 23 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:44.453 | 6.735 | 16 |
| 24 | 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1:45.114 | 7.396 | 20 |
