F1 US GP: Sainz leads Ferrari 1-2 in FP1, Hamilton escapes high-speed spin

Carlos Sainz headlined the sole practice session for the United States Grand Prix in a Ferrari 1-2, as Charles Leclerc was just 0.021s behind his team-mate.

Leclerc had led the way in the hard-tyre runs in the opening half-hour of the session, setting a 1m34.966s which looked as though it would be the benchmark for the subsequent soft-tyre runs – although Sainz went marginally quicker to set a 1m34.717s on the hardest compound.

Max Verstappen then posted a 1m33.855s on the softs, almost 0.8s faster than Sergio Perez’s respective run on the softest tyre as the Red Bulls went early on their qualifying simulations.

It took until the final 10 minutes of the session before the majority of the field decided to partake in performance runs, and Carlos Sainz then found a quarter of a second over Verstappen to post a 1m33.602s headliner.

Leclerc moved into second place with just over a minute remaining in the session, just two hundredths shy of his team-mate, although the Monegasque was forced into an extra cool-down lap when a virtual safety car appeared to interrupt his preparations for an earlier flyer.

Verstappen’s early soft-tyre effort was good enough for third as the two McLarens, bearing a series of upgrades, were fourth and fifth; Lando Norris went too deep into Turn 12 and lost time on his lap, while Piastri appeared to defy track limits at Turn 19.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were sixth and seventh, but both Mercedes drivers had spins throughout the session as the upgraded W15 car looked difficult to handle.

Hamilton was hurled off the road by the bump in the road at Turn 4 and avoided coming to blows with Nico Hulkenberg, while Russell suffered a spin at Turn 1 as he struggled with the uphill corner.

Kevin Magnussen was eighth fastest over Fernando Alonso, while Yuki Tsunoda completed the top 10 over Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly.

Liam Lawson was 13th in his first F1 session in over a year, 0.15s clear of the 14th-placed Alex Albon.

 United States Grand Prix – Free Practice 1

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Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	C. SainzFerrari	55		Ferrari	Ferrari	25	1’33.602		212.033
2	C. LeclercFerrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	27	+0.021 1’33.623	0.021	211.986
3	M. VerstappenRed Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	23	+0.253 1’33.855	0.232	211.462
4	L. NorrisMcLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	25	+0.266 1’33.868	0.013	211.433
5	O. PiastriMcLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	26	+0.306 1’33.908	0.040	211.343
6	L. HamiltonMercedes	44		Mercedes	Mercedes	22	+0.361 1’33.963	0.055	211.219
7	G. RussellMercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	27	+0.491 1’34.093	0.130	210.927
8	K. MagnussenHaas F1 Team	20		Haas	Ferrari	24	+0.494 1’34.096	0.003	210.920
9	F. AlonsoAston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	24	+0.510 1’34.112	0.016	210.884
10	Y. TsunodaRB	22		RB	Red Bull	20	+0.711 1’34.313	0.201	210.435
11	N. HulkenbergHaas F1 Team	27		Haas	Ferrari	24	+0.762 1’34.364	0.051	210.321
12	P. GaslyAlpine	10		Alpine	Renault	24	+0.773 1’34.375	0.011	210.297
13	L. LawsonRB	30		RB	Red Bull	28	+0.841 1’34.443	0.068	210.145
14	A. AlbonWilliams	23		Williams	Mercedes	26	+1.016 1’34.618	0.175	209.757
15	L. StrollAston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	24	+1.017 1’34.619	0.001	209.754
16	S. PerezRed Bull Racing	11		Red Bull	Red Bull	24	+1.036 1’34.638	0.019	209.712
17	E. OconAlpine	31		Alpine	Renault	24	+1.204 1’34.806	0.168	209.341
18	V. BottasSauber	77		Sauber	Ferrari	26	+1.439 1’35.041	0.235	208.823
19	F. ColapintoWilliams	43		Williams	Mercedes	27	+1.646 1’35.248	0.207	208.369
20	Z. GuanyuSauber	24		Sauber	Ferrari	15	+3.617 1’37.219	1.971	204.145
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