Leclerc leads a tight top three
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc ended Friday at the top of the timesheets at the United States Grand Prix, according to Motorsport.com. He edged Kimi Antonelli in the second practice session at Circuit of the Americas. Leclerc's best lap, a 1m35.291s, came shortly before the halfway point of the afternoon running.
Antonelli, who leads the drivers' championship, was only 0.042s slower in second. Max Verstappen had briefly held the best time with a 1m35.480s on soft tyres. Leclerc beat that on his first soft-tyre push lap, finishing roughly two tenths ahead of the Red Bull driver. Motorsport.com said the gain came from a stronger final sector.
Motorsport.com also reported that Leclerc had been quickest in the first practice session, narrowly ahead of Verstappen. That is why the outlet described his day as a perfect Friday.
A difficult circuit for set-up
The 5.5km Austin layout again gave teams plenty to think about. Motorsport.com said the bumpy track, with its mix of low-speed corners and high-downforce sections, made it hard to find a workable compromise. The same problems appeared in the morning session.
Early in the afternoon, George Russell beat Verstappen's first benchmark on medium tyres. Elsewhere, Oscar Piastri ran wide in his McLaren, and Red Bull's Isack Hadjar struggled for overall grip. Teams then fitted fresh soft tyres shortly before the midpoint of the session for qualifying-style runs.
Those runs showed how demanding the circuit is. The fast sequence of Esses in the first sector wore the soft tyres heavily, according to Motorsport.com. Russell had a dramatic moment there in his Mercedes, losing the car through the quickest part of the section before saving it. Grip was also low in the final sector, where Lando Norris went off the road while wrestling a McLaren that Motorsport.com likened to a bucking bronco.
The order behind the leaders
Leclerc, Antonelli and Verstappen opened a significant gap to the rest of the field. Lewis Hamilton was fourth, about six tenths off the best time. Motorsport.com noted that he was among several front-runners who did not complete an optimal lap before moving on to long-run work, so the gap may not reflect his true pace.
Russell recovered from his scare to take fifth. Liam Lawson was sixth for Racing Bulls, a result Motorsport.com called promising. McLaren's handling problems left Norris and Piastri in seventh and eighth, about a second behind Leclerc. A frustrated Hadjar was ninth, and Oliver Bearman of Haas completed the top 10.
What to watch next
Motorsport.com's practice debrief asked whether Ferrari can stay ahead as a four-team fight takes shape. Friday's times offer only a partial picture, since teams run different fuel loads and programmes and some leading drivers did not show their full speed.
Even so, the session left clear questions. Can McLaren fix its handling and close a gap of roughly a second? Can teams manage soft-tyre wear through the first sector over a longer run? Qualifying and the race will show whether Leclerc's Friday form carries over, and whether Antonelli can extend his lead in the championship.
