Here's the thing about Friday practice sessions: they love to mess with your head. Charles Leclerc found himself topping both FP1 and FP2 at the Circuit of The Americas, yet the man himself is pumping the brakes hard on any grand Ferrari predictions for the rest of the United States Grand Prix weekend. Leclerc insisted that the Scuderia "need to be careful" despite the initial speed, pointing out that their latest machine updates might not be packing the massive punch that outsiders seem to think.
Let us look at the raw facts of the day. The team rolled out modifications to crucial aerodynamic areas including the floor, sidepod inlet, and diffuser. Lewis Hamilton had already offered a modest prediction during Thursday's press conference, guessing those tweaks would extract a mere half a tenth in performance. Leclerc did manage to outpace the competition on track, though by margins so slim they practically demand holding your breath: he led Max Verstappen by 0.084s in the first session and edged Kimi Antonelli by 0.042s in the second.
That said, the driver was remarkably candid about the reality behind the timesheets. "The feeling is quite good but we need to be careful – obviously it’s only Friday," Leclerc explained. He noted that while the car's balance felt right immediately and slotted into a good window right away, the lap time gained from the upgrade package is "definitely not what everybody thinks." He added that all the hard work to rush the new parts to the track is helping, but warned against carrying high expectations into Saturday because rivals clearly have more speed left to unlock.
Indeed, the threats are lingering right behind him. Leclerc singled out Kimi and Max as looking very strong, while admitting he is still unsure what to make of the McLaren pace since they seemingly have not put everything together yet. The overarching narrative of the season has seen the gap between the top four teams shrink dramatically, yet Ferrari has not stood on the top step of the podium since Round 9 in Great Britain.
Team Principal Fred Vasseur echoed that cautious stance verbatim, refusing to pop any champagne over Friday times. "It’s a good start, but I think once again it’s very tight," Vasseur stated, noting he doubts FP1 classifications are entirely relevant for the reality of Qualifying. He emphasized the sheer volume of data the garage still needs to learn regarding the new package, pointing out that the performance impact of upgrades is smaller now than it was at the start of the season. With five or six cars theoretically capable of fighting for pole position, the garage knows every single detail must be finetuned before things get serious.
