Lando Norris took the sole lead in the practice session for the United States Grand Prix ahead of sprint qualifying later today.
Norris was one of the last front runners to set a time on the fast-paced circuit in a scorching 111 degrees Fahrenheit in 86 degrees Fahrenheit ambient conditions. The McLaren driver’s best lap of 1 minute 33.294 seconds included a purple time in the final sector, but he went off the track at Turn 19 on the way to the checkered flag.
Indicating how much the track had evolved, Nico Hulkenberg ended the session as Norris’ closest challenger. The Sauber driver finished his lap just 0.255 seconds off the pace and completed one lap at the end of the time.
Oscar Piastri needed a second lap on soft tires late in the session to match Norris, but his first lap was well off his teammate’s pace. The title leader was 0.279 seconds off the pace on his second attempt.
Fernando Alonso was an early pacesetter despite being one of the first drivers to change from hard tires to soft tires. In the end he was 0.345 seconds off the pace, which was in line with Aston Martin’s usual approach of putting more effort into practice.
Max Verstappen ended the session unsatisfied with his car, complaining to his engineer that it was “just at the bottom” and that the set-up was “too aggressive”. The Dutchman was 0.354 seconds off the pace and was most floating in the middle sector, which consisted of long corners from turns 7 to 9 and a long back straight.
Williams’ Alex Albon was sixth, 0.626 seconds off Norris’ benchmark.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were in a close race, 0.637s and 0.671s off the pace, but Mercedes and Ferrari each sent their drivers to simulated qualifying laps on medium tires. Mediums are mandatory for the first two parts of sprint qualifying and are likely to be the preferred tire for sprint races as well.
Isak Hajar also finished ninth on medium tires, but complained of a power unit issue that caused him to lose time, dropping him 0.861 seconds off the pace.
Oliver Bearman rounded out the top ten for Haas, 1.074 seconds off the pace. He is now one place ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon by 0.035 seconds. Esteban Ocon seemed to have a strange throttle stuck problem early in the session, causing him to crash into the gravel in the first turn.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortleto was 12th, ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Yuki Tsunoda. Hiroki Tsunoda was 1.2 seconds off the pace and 0.883 seconds slower than teammate Verstappen.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 14th after part of his car hit the curb at Turn 19, bringing out a five-metre red flag.
Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson finished 15th on medium tyres, with Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly and Kimi Antonelli unable to complete a clean lap on medium tyres.
Carlos Sainz ended his session just 30 minutes into the race due to a gearbox problem and was unable to get a chance to change from his hard tires, finishing 19th without getting a representative time.
Charles Leclerc was classified last after suffering an apparent gearbox problem after fitting medium tires in a simulated qualifying run. He reported smelling oil before returning to the pit lane.
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