Charles Leclerc led the way in the opening practice session for the United States Grand Prix, putting his Ferrari on top of the timesheets ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris at the Circuit of The Americas.
Down the order in the early running, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto took the track first at 1230 local time under the Texas sunshine. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Cadillac’s Colton Herta—driving in place of Sergio Perez for FP1—both rolled out with large aero rakes attached to their machines to gather data. Verstappen reported some early friction in the steering when turning left, though the four-time champion brushed it aside as the session rolled on. Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg noted an odd noise from his power unit on his initial C4 run, while George Russell radioed in about sudden understeer before finding pace on the hard compound.
As the session ticked past the halfway mark, the field switched to soft rubber for qualifying simulations. Leclerc locked down the top spot with a 1m 36.052s lap, while team mate Lewis Hamilton struggled slightly on his first effort, running wide onto the dusty track and finishing nearly eight tenths back. Verstappen briefly went quickest with a 1m 35.862s lap, but that time was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 19. Verstappen, Hadjar, Lawson, and Albon all fell victim to track limits as drivers explored the boundaries of the circuit.
Williams spent the early part of the session strictly on data collection runs before Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon finally put down times good enough for 19th and 20th respectively, with Albon ultimately losing a timed effort to track limits as well. In the closing moments, the focus shifted toward higher-fuel race simulations.
When the chequered flag dropped, Leclerc remained untouchable at the top of the order. Verstappen secured second, followed by Norris in third. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli—the young Italian eyeing a potential maiden title this weekend—claimed fourth and fifth for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton rounding out the top six in the other Ferrari.
Oscar Piastri finished seventh, while Gabriel Bortoleto delivered an eye-catching eighth for Audi. The Racing Bulls duo of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson followed, with Ollie Bearman taking 11th for Haas. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll took 12th and 13th for Aston Martin, ahead of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar. Pierre Gasly placed 15th for Alpine, ahead of Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto, and Nico Hulkenberg, while the Cadillac pair of Valtteri Bottas and Colton Herta sat further down the order as teams prepared to review data ahead of Free Practice 2 at 1600 local time.
