Charles Leclerc finished at the top of the time sheets in FP2 at the Circuit of the Americas, making it two of two sessions for the Monegasque.
Leclerc went fastest in FP1, and closed out his Friday in Austin the same way he started it. He finished FP2 with the fastest time of a 1:35.291. Antonelli, Verstappen, Hamilton, and Russell made up the top five as Williams’ struggles continued.
FP2 as it happened
Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen started out the session with a minor Red Bull on Racing Bulls scrap, before Verstappen set an early benchmark with a 1:36.581 on the medium compound. The majority of the field were running mediums in the opening stages of the second practice session.
As was an issue in FP1 earlier, Alex Albon was struggling to keep his Williams within track limits. Both Williams spent much of the first session in the garage, so FP2 was crucial for the team to collect information – particularly on the soft tyre, as they were the only team not to run the softs in FP1.
Meanwhile, could-be champion Kimi Antonelli briefly returned to the garage after having his only lap time deleted. The young Italian had complained on the radio of a seat issue which the Mercedes team needed to investigate.
Whilst Mercedes fixed Antonelli’s seat problem, a new problem occurred; George Russell was put under investigation for allegedly forcing Charles Leclerc off the track. Neither Russell nor Leclerc was on a flying lap on softs, so the reason for their squabble was unclear and the stewards quickly ruled no further action.
At the half-way point of the session, Leclerc lead the way with a 1:35.291 followed by Antonelli 0.042 seconds slower. Lando Norris was forced to take a detour into the run off area as his McLaren locked up, unable to improve thus far on eighth fastest.
Williams’ issues continued as Albon had yet another moment with the kerbs. The FW48 does not seem to get along with the Circuit of the Americas, with both drivers lacking confidence in the car’s performance.
It was Charles Leclerc who ended FP2 on top with a 1:35.291. Kimi Antonelli was second fastest and Max Verstappen rounded out the top three.
READ MORE – F1 2026 United States GP – FP1 Results
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