Charles Leclerc topped the time sheets for Ferrari in a slightly unusual FP2 session, during which Pirelli carried out tests on a prototype 2023 tyre.
The Monegasque set a 1:36.810 on Mediums, seven-tenths of a second clear of Valtteri Bottas and eight-tenths ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, both of whom set their fastest laps on Softs.
Carlos Sainz was fourth on the prototype tyre ahead of Haas’ Mick Schumacher, with Lando Norris in sixth for McLaren, followed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
READ MORE: F1 US GP – FP2 Results
Lewis Hamilton set the eighth-fastest lap time in his Mercedes, while Pierre Gasly and Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10.
After five changes in FP1, Leclerc, Ricciardo, Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Nicholas Latifi all returned to their cars for the extended session on Friday.
The teams all took part in a Pirelli tyre test, adding another half an hour to the running, with the data being used to inform next year’s rubber.
The tyres were run at set temperatures in preparation for the proposed eventual abandonment of tyre blankets for the 2024 season.
Drivers who missed the first session were all granted half an hour of running with their own set-ups, and with the tyres allocated for this weekend.
When completing short runs on the unknown compound, the drivers were required to complete at least three consecutive push laps on the rubber to collect the necessary data.
The longer runs consisted of two sets of eight push laps.
Magnussen was one of those to sit out the opening hour of practice, but he opted not to use any of the C2, C3 or C4 tyres, instead contesting the session on the prototypes.
The Dane came home 11th, while the returning Latifi ended up P20 in a largely unrepresentative session in light of the tyre test.
The third and final free practice session kicks off at 14:00 local time, three hours before qualifying gets underway at the Circuit of the Americas.
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