Hamilton can prove far too quick in Texas shootout

US Grand Prix qualifying
Channel 4 & Sky Sports F1, 10pm Saturday

After a string of engine-related gremlins in recent races, problems with Sebastian Vettel's chassis limited him to just 11 laps in second practice for the US Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, seems to be on course to cruise to his fifth win in six races, emulating the kind of storming finish to the season that Vettel was notable for in the early 2010's.

The championship leader beat Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.4 seconds in the second practice session and Hamilton is 2-5 to claim his 11th pole position of the season.

The Mercedes driver has won four of the five races staged in Austin, but only one of those came after he started from pole.

However, Hamilton has upped his qualifying game this year and Mercedes showed their best Friday form for some time.

As has been the pattern lately, Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas has been unable to show the kind of pace the Briton is producing.

That could give Ferrari or Daniel Ricciardo the chance to grab a front-row starting berth (Max Verstappen must take a grid penalty) but the best bet could be for the pole time to be more than 0.2 seconds quicker than the the second-fastest qualifying lap.

Recommendation
Qualifying winning margin over 0.2 seconds
1pt 5-6 bet365

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