Charles Leclerc leads opening practice at Circuit of the Americas

Leclerc and Ferrari technical changes

Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in the opening practice at the Circuit of the Americas with a 1:36.052 lap in an upgraded Ferrari SF-26. He beat Max Verstappen by 0.084 seconds, but Verstappen lost a faster time on the soft tyres because of a track limits violation at Turn 19. Ferrari brought a package with changes to the floor, bargeboard, sidepod, and diffuser, along with revisions to the five floor fingers. These modifications to the floor fences aim to control airflow and ensure the diffuser works efficiently by extending the outermost finger to act as a horizontal flow conditioner. The team also updated the diffuser volume and modified the internal floor fences to increase the expansion of the flow released from the rear. I observed Leclerc show strength on both medium and soft tyres, and his medium tyre time was 1:36.61. The Circuit of the Americas’ notorious bumps appear to be no less of a problem than usual this year, despite patches in several places to alleviate the worst of the bumps. Lewis Hamilton finished sixth, 0.503 seconds behind Leclerc, and he told media that the updates are "less than a tenth". Hamilton suggested the changes might not be enough to challenge the current deficit and that the track might just suit the car. Verstappen’s Red Bull RB22 showed strength through the Esses despite his track limits error.

Battle for the top and championship math

Lando Norris took third in the McLaren MCL40, 0.245 seconds behind Leclerc, while George Russell and Kimi Antonelli took fourth and fifth. Antonelli arrives in Austin 102 points ahead of team-mate Russell but needs to win Sunday’s race, and hope that Lewis Hamilton finishes fifth or lower, with Russell ninth or lower, in order to clinch the world championship. Mercedes brought no new updates and instead used the specification W17 from Malaysia. The Mercedes drivers previously ran a comparison test in Singapore to evaluate the package. McLaren brought a new front and rear corner plus a modified diffuser, and Red Bull debuted a new front wing and front corner to improve material reliability on the RB22. I think the session felt uneven as teams split tyre strategies early on, which meant Lando Norris and the Mercedes drivers only showed true pace later on soft tyres. The top four teams all appeared in the same ballpark based on the limited sample size provided by the session. Oscar Piastri finished seventh, 0.734 seconds behind Leclerc, while George Russell dealt with early understeer and a flat-spot on his hard tyres. Norris also dealt with snaps of oversteater before taking third.

Midfield, rookies, and testing programs

Gabriel Bortoleto finished eighth for Audi, but he must serve a 20-place grid penalty for taking two engine elements beyond his limit. He ran with a large aero rake attached to his car. Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson completed the top 10 for Racing Bulls, though Lindblad faces a five-place penalty for his sixth engine. I saw Oscar Piastri finish seventh and Fernando Alonso finish twelfth. Ollie Bearman finished eleventh, 1.613 seconds off the top, while Isack Hadjar finished fourteenth after losing his fastest lap to track limits. Nico Hulkenberg suffered a technical problem that ended his session early. Williams spent the session on an aerodynamic testing programme to assist with development for this year and the upcoming FW50. Albon and Sainz completed runplans of coming out and pitting almost immediately afterwards. Carlos Sainz finished nineteenth, while Alex Albon finished twenty-second without setting a competitive lap time. Colton Herta finished twenty-first in his Cadillac and sat 0.926s behind Valtteri Bottas, and he drove a car with a large gate-like device. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll took 12th and 13th, which was a much-better showing for Aston Martin.