Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz set the quickest time during the sole practice session for Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.
Austin is hosting the fourth of six Sprint events this season, with Friday lunchtime’s session the sole hour of practice ahead of sprint qualifying.
Several teams, including title contenders Red Bull and McLaren, have introduced upgrade packages, with the hour of running key to getting a handle on the new parts.
Ferrari was not among them and Sainz used the known quantity of the SF-24 to go fastest, setting a time of 1:33.602s.
Sainz’s time left him 0.021s faster than Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, amid a wave of improvements late in the session once drivers switched to Soft tyres.
World Champion Max Verstappen, who leads the standings by 52 points, was third-fastest, 0.253s behind Sainz.
His title rival Lando Norris, who completed his hot lap with flow viz paint still on the updated MCL38, was fourth-fastest, just 0.013s behind, despite running wide at Turn 12.
Oscar Piastri wound up fifth-best and had an unusual moment when he slid wide on the entry to pit lane and had to stay out on track for another lap.
Mercedes had a problematic session as both drivers struggled in the W15, with Lewis Hamilton sixth, and George Russell seventh.
Hamilton had a wild spin on the entry to the Esses early in the session, losing control of the car into Turn 3, while Russell also saved a moment at the same curve.
Russell went on to have a spin at Turn 1 and also had a couple of excursions elsewhere.
Kevin Magnussen was eighth in the old-spec Haas VF-24, with Nico Hulkenberg in 11th place in the updated car.
Fernando Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 10 for Aston Martin and RB respectively.
Liam Lawson – who will take a grid penalty for Sunday’s race – was 13th for RB on his first session back in Formula 1, in place of Daniel Ricciardo.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finished the session down in 16th position.
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