Lewis Hamilton says he had a “massive headache” after the first practice session due to the bumpy nature of the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.
Several bumps have developed around the Circuit of the Americas, venue for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, with the surface most uneven at Turns 1, 9 and 16.
A few drivers went wide, or spun, due to the bumps, with Racing Point’s Sergio Perez among the most vocal, labelling the situation as “totally unacceptable”.
Hamilton said set-up changes made for FP2 eased the situation but commented that “after the first session, I was not feeling good.
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-120x86.webp)
“It was the bumpiest track by far that I have ever been on. I had such a headache.
“For people to understand when we talk about bumpy tracks, the bumps are not such a bad thing in some places because it just adds characteristics, it adds that character to a circuit.
“So I’m not a fan of completely smooth circuits. But this one is like massive, massive bumps, and the problem for us is that we don’t have much suspension.
“Our suspension moves like this much, so it’s usually your butt on the floor, and your spine takes all the compression, so I was feeling horrible.
“I had a massive headache after P1, I had to lay down, I was not feeling great.”
Hamilton nevertheless led the way in the second practice session by three-tenths of a second, as he chases a sixth world title, and fifth in the last six years.
“I’ve not really been looking at what the others have been doing, but naturally it’s those two teams that we keep an eye on,” he said.
“Red Bull I think was looking quite good earlier, and Ferrari is now looking quite strong. Again, I’ve not looked at the data.
“I’m excited though, I love this track in general. It’s a track that’s generally suited me in the past, and the car is feeling fairly decent here today.
“We’ve got some work to do still. There are some areas we can improve on.”
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-350x250.webp)
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