Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc edged out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to secure the top position during the initial practice session at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Leclerc was slightly quicker than Verstappen in an enhanced Ferrari, aiming to thwart the Dutch driver and his currently dominant Red Bull team from achieving a third consecutive Grand Prix victory.
In warm conditions at the Circuit of the Americas, Ferrari quickly commenced testing its latest, believed to be final, aerodynamic upgrades for 2026. The package for Texas includes changes to the floor, bargeboard, sidepod, and diffuser.
Despite the seemingly significant improvements on paper, the team was cautious, labeling it a minor enhancement. Regardless of this, both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton quickly adapted during the early laps of the 5.5km undulating circuit, with Leclerc clocking a time of 1m36.61s on medium tires, just 0.074s behind Hamilton’s early benchmark.
McLaren’s Lando Norris positioned himself third, followed by Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, who performed their opening laps on the slower hard compound, trailing by four and five tenths respectively.
The team communicated about balance difficulties, which are common issues at COTA due to its diverse layout and uneven surface.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Chris Graythen / Getty Images
Shortly after the midway point, Leclerc improved his previous best time significantly by seven tenths when he switched to the softest tire compound. After addressing early challenges with balance and steering, Verstappen surged up the timings to secure second place, just 0.084s behind Leclerc’s lap of 1m36.052s.
Verstappen’s Red Bull, which showcased an updated front wing, appeared particularly strong through the initial sector and the fast, flowing Esses of COTA. However, a lap that could have seen the four-time world champion move ahead of Leclerc was disqualified due to track limit violations at the penultimate corner.
Following some moments of oversteering, Norris finished in third place, 0.245s slower than Leclerc, with Russell following close behind. The top four teams’ performance suggested they were closely matched based on the limited data from FP1.
World champion contender Antonelli placed fifth, ahead of Hamilton and Piastri. Gabriel Bortoleto led the midfield in the Audi, securing eighth place while trailing the front-runners by just under one second. He was slightly quicker than Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls car, which has been effectively leading the fight for fifth in the constructors’ championship.
Liam Lawson narrowly retained tenth place from Haas driver Oliver Bearman, while Aston Martin showed signs of progress with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finishing 12th and 13th, respectively, placing them ahead of Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull, who lost his chance for a flying lap due to track limit infractions.
The first practice session featured one rookie, Cadillac’s Colton Herta, who took over Sergio Perez’s car at home. The former IndyCar driver was allocated additional practice on Friday to secure the last few necessary FIA superlicence points, compensating for a shortened FP1 session in Italy.
Williams driver Alex Albon was the sole competitor not to produce a competitive time, as his team opted to prioritize aerodynamic testing for its 2027 project.
F1 United States GP results – FP1
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– The Autosport.com Team
