Free Practice 1 – Ferrari strikes from the start in Austin

After several weeks of interruption, which probably seemed very long to you, Formula 1 is back in full swing! The United States Grand Prix, 19th round of the Championship, will take place in Austin, Texas. Sprint weekend requires, we will only attend one free practice session.

Complicated return to competition for Mercedes

With only one hour of practice, the drivers quickly went out on track to get their bearings behind the wheel of their cars. Several teams arrived in Austin with improvements to their F1 cars. The team to beat is McLaren who currently lead the constructors’ standings.

The majority of drivers on the track mounted hard tires on their cars. Among the 20 actors present this weekend, one man is making his return; Liam Lawson. The New Zealand driver took the still hot place of Daniel Ricciardo, dismissed by the Red Bull fold.

The first driver to make a mistake, Pierre Gasly lost control of his Alpine at the first corner. The French pilot said he lost it when he jumped on the brakes. The first reference time was set by Championship leader Max Verstappen. With a time of 1:35.538, the Red Bull driver was ahead of Charles Leclerc (+0.013) and Carlos Sainz (+0.271).

The first big scare of the weekend was due to Lewis Hamilton who suffered a huge stall in the rapid sequence of the first sector. His garage neighbor at Mercedes, George Russell, reported to his engineer that he had almost lost his car in the same place.

After twenty minutes of driving, the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc (1:34.966) and Carlos Sainz dominated the proceedings ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell, the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and the McLaren of Lando Norris. Making his return at the wheel of a Visa Cash App Racing Bull, Lawson 12th was a little four tenths behind his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda.

Sergio Pérez still left behind by Max Verstappen

At mid-session, the top five remained unchanged, with drivers and teams concentrating on long-run simulations.

The first driver from a “Top Team” to switch to soft tires, Max Verstappen dropped the time to 1:33.855. The Dutch driver, however, reported to his engineer that the tires were too cold when he started the lap. Equipped with the same tires, Sergio Pérez was eight tenths behind his teammate. Complaining about the behavior of his car in the slow corners, the Mexican only managed to get closer to seven tenths on his second attempt.

On a largely resurfaced track, in particular to smooth out as many bumps as possible, the drivers often encountered understeer.

Carlos Sainz fastest in Austin

The debates became lively ten minutes from the end of the session, the drivers putting on soft tires. With the red sidewall tires, Max Verstappen’s time was quickly beaten by Carlos Sainz, beating the Dutchman’s time by more than two tenths.

While practicing to optimize his entry into the pit lane, Oscar Piastri narrowly missed crashing his car into the entry wall. Warmth for the Australian, still congratulated by his engineer for having saved his car.

On a second lap on the soft rubber, Charles Leclerc came to catch up, positioning himself in second place in the ranking (+0.021). Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri completed the top 10.

Ferrari is therefore making a successful comeback after several weeks of break, McLaren has not yet found the right rhythm, the Mercedes are struggling to find grip and finally, Max Verstappen alone is holding Red Bull at arm’s length.

The classification of EL1 of the United States Grand Prix