Formula 1 today: Leclerc tops both practice sessions in Austin

At the United States GP at the Circuit of the Americas, Charles Leclerc topped both Friday free practice sessions. In the second session he was just 0.042 seconds ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, according to formula1.com. Behind them came Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Verstappen was briefly fastest in the first practice session. According to formula1.com, however, that lap was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 19, leaving Leclerc back on top by the end. After Friday, formula1.com sees four teams in the fight for pole and victory: Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren.

The day did not run entirely smoothly for everyone:

• Antonelli had to spend a while in the garage after his seat came loose, according to The Race.
• Russell forced Leclerc off the track in the second practice session and was shown the black-and-white flag for it. The stewards later decided that no further action was necessary, according to formula1.com.
• McLaren were unhappy with the car's handling. Lando Norris locked up on his qualifying simulation and ran off the track, according to The Race, while Oscar Piastri was also unhappy with the handling, according to formula1.com.

In the first practice session, Colton Herta also drove Sergio Pérez's car for the Cadillac F1 Team.

Three drivers have used more power unit components than the regulations allow and will therefore drop places on the starting grid:

• Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) loses 20 places after taking both his fourth energy store and his fourth control electronics, according to formula1.com. He is therefore expected to start from the back of the field.
• Franco Colapinto (Alpine) drops ten places for a fourth control electronics unit.
• Arvid Lindblad (RB F1 Team) gets five places for his sixth internal combustion engine, according to formula1.com and The Race. The penalty is smaller because this is not the first time he has exceeded his allocation.

The penalties will be applied after qualifying, so the final starting grid will only be confirmed then.

On Saturday, the third free practice session starts at 19:30 German time, with qualifying following at 23:00. The race starts on Sunday at 21:00. Summer time ends overnight into Sunday, so the time difference to Austin will then be one hour smaller. Antonelli arrives in Austin leading the championship. You can find the full standings under 2026 standings and all dates in the calendar.