United States, Texas: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led Friday practice, but Max Verstappen’s race pace made Red Bull the team to watch
Charles Leclerc emerged as the fastest driver across Friday practice for the United States Grand Prix, giving Ferrari an encouraging start to the Austin weekend. However, Max Verstappen’s impressive long-run performance ensured Red Bull remained the major talking point.
Leclerc topped both sessions and finished 0.042 seconds ahead of Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who continues to harbour an outside mathematical possibility of securing his maiden Formula 1 world championship title in Texas this weekend.
Antonelli’s championship opportunity is extremely demanding, requiring him to win Sunday’s race while Mercedes team-mate George Russell finishes below eighth position. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton must also finish below fourth for the Italian to succeed.
Verstappen completed the second session in third place, only 0.189 seconds away from Leclerc’s benchmark. Hamilton followed in fourth, although the seven-time world champion remained 0.615 seconds away from the pace set by Ferrari’s leading driver.
Russell finished fifth overall, followed by Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, while McLaren’s Lando Norris occupied seventh. Oscar Piastri was eighth, ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Haas driver Oliver Bearman after a busy afternoon.
Despite finishing behind Leclerc and Antonelli on the timing screens, Verstappen appeared particularly competitive during the longer race-simulation runs. Those programmes can offer a more representative indication of race performance than individual qualifying-style laps.
Direct comparisons were possible between Verstappen and Ferrari’s drivers because all three were completing their long-run programmes on soft-compound tyres. Verstappen’s average pace was marginally better than Leclerc’s, while his consistency stood out throughout the simulations.
That consistency could prove significant when the race begins on Sunday. Verstappen has already demonstrated an ability to extract strong race pace from the Red Bull, and Friday’s performance suggested his package could become increasingly competitive as the weekend develops.
Leclerc, meanwhile, delivered exactly the kind of Friday Ferrari would have wanted. He looked comfortable over single laps, maintained a competitive rhythm and helped the team gather useful information about an important new floor introduced for the Austin weekend.
Ferrari have brought an aerodynamic upgrade centred on the floor, hoping to improve the car’s performance during the remaining races of the season. Leclerc, however, was careful not to exaggerate the significance of the changes.
“It felt good but it is not the gain I have seen or heard about,” Leclerc said, describing the improvement as relatively small while emphasising that the car began the weekend with a strong and balanced feeling.
The Monegasque driver also warned that Ferrari could face greater pressure on Saturday, pointing out that rival teams often make larger gains between Friday and qualifying. With the margins so narrow, even small improvements could dramatically alter the competitive order.
Leclerc also addressed the condition of the Circuit of the Americas, echoing Verstappen’s concerns about the increasingly difficult track surface. The Ferrari driver described the circuit as very poor, highlighting particularly severe bumps through the opening sector.
Those surface problems have become a significant talking point throughout the weekend, with drivers concerned about how the bumps affect car stability and confidence. Austin’s challenging layout already demands precision, making a rough surface an additional difficulty.
Mercedes, meanwhile, ended Friday with encouraging signs but still had unanswered questions surrounding its latest aerodynamic package. Both cars have returned to the upgraded specification introduced in Malaysia two races ago, allowing direct comparisons across the team.
Mercedes believes additional performance remains available from the package but acknowledges that it has not yet discovered the ideal setup window. The team hopes the conventional three-practice-session format in Austin will provide enough time to understand the car.
Antonelli said running both Mercedes cars with the same specification would be beneficial because the team could experiment with different settings while gathering more consistent information about the upgrade and its potential performance throughout the weekend.
However, the Italian admitted Mercedes was still searching for the correct balance. His second-place Friday result nevertheless provides encouragement, particularly given that he is attempting to keep his unlikely championship challenge alive against the established contenders.
Hamilton’s Friday was less convincing, with the Ferrari driver appearing to struggle for outright pace compared with Leclerc during both shorter qualifying simulations and longer race-focused runs. The seven-time champion therefore faces work before Saturday’s qualifying session.
McLaren also experienced a mixed afternoon. Norris finished seventh after failing to complete a representative qualifying simulation on soft tyres, following a mistake at Turn 16 that prevented him from recording a meaningful benchmark.
Norris was considerably stronger during the long runs, recording the fastest average among the drivers completing those programmes. He was approximately two-tenths of a second quicker than Verstappen, although McLaren’s use of hard tyres makes direct comparison difficult.
McLaren have introduced the first of three planned consecutive upgrades this weekend, yet Norris admitted he remained dissatisfied with the car’s behaviour. He described the package as difficult to drive and said consistency was proving particularly challenging.
The world champion explained that extracting maximum speed required drivers to be almost perfect, something he considered unrealistic over an entire lap. Norris also acknowledged that rivals face similar difficulties but insisted McLaren currently lacked sufficient pace.
Oscar Piastri completed the top eight behind Norris, while Hadjar and Bearman rounded out the top ten. The results indicate that several teams remain closely matched, although Friday’s order could change substantially once qualifying preparations begin.
The weekend will also feature grid penalties for three drivers because of power-unit component usage beyond permitted limits. Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad will receive a five-place penalty, while Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto faces a heavier 20-place sanction.
Alpine driver Franco Colapinto is also set to receive a 10-place grid penalty. Those punishments could significantly influence the midfield starting order and create opportunities for rivals who successfully avoid reliability-related penalties throughout the demanding Austin weekend.
With Saturday’s qualifying session still to come, Ferrari can take confidence from Leclerc’s pace, while Red Bull will be encouraged by Verstappen’s race simulations. Mercedes remains competitive, but McLaren needs to unlock more consistency from its latest upgrade.
The United States Grand Prix therefore enters its decisive stages with the competitive picture still unresolved. Leclerc has established the early benchmark, yet Verstappen’s long-run strength suggests Red Bull may have the more formidable race package when the lights eventually go out.
For Antonelli, the weekend carries an additional layer of pressure. His championship hopes depend on an extraordinary combination of results, meaning victory is essential. Even if the title remains out of reach, his Friday performance demonstrated why Mercedes considers him a future leader.
The Austin race is scheduled for Sunday, 25 October, following Saturday’s qualifying session. With Ferrari’s upgrade, Red Bull’s promising long-run pace, Mercedes’ evolving package and McLaren’s latest development, the United States Grand Prix promises a closely contested weekend.
This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members