News Summary
- Leclerc finished fastest in both FP1 and FP2 at Austin, beating Max Verstappen by 0.084s in the opening session and Kimi Antonelli by 0.042s in the second.
- The Ferrari driver warned that the team’s latest aerodynamic upgrade has delivered a smaller gain than the Friday results might suggest.
- Frédéric Vasseur expects a closely contested qualifying session, with several drivers capable of securing pole position.
Charles Leclerc has warned that Ferrari’s strong start to the United States Grand Prix weekend does not guarantee it will remain ahead of Mercedes and Red Bull in qualifying. The Monegasque topped both practice sessions at Circuit of The Americas on Friday (October 23), but believes Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen have additional performance available.
Leclerc led FP1 with a 1:36.052, finishing 0.084 seconds ahead of Verstappen. He improved to 1:35.291 in FP2, when Antonelli came within 0.042s of taking first place.
Verstappen finished third in the second session, 0.189s behind Ferrari, while Lewis Hamilton took fourth in the other SF-26.
Despite the results, Leclerc believes Friday’s classification does not fully represent the competitive order ahead of qualifying.
Leclerc says Ferrari’s upgrade is smaller than results suggest
Ferrari brought an aerodynamic development package to Austin, including changes to the floor, sidepod inlet and diffuser.
The modifications were introduced as the Italian manufacturer attempts to improve its competitiveness in the closing stages of the championship.
Leclerc reported a positive feeling with the SF-26 throughout Friday and acknowledged that Ferrari began the weekend with a useful baseline set-up.
However, he rejected suggestions that the new components had produced a major improvement in lap time.
“The feeling is quite good but we need to be careful – obviously it’s only Friday,” Leclerc said after FP2.
The Ferrari driver explained that the car behaved largely as expected and that the team had benefited from immediately finding a satisfactory balance.
He also acknowledged the contribution of the engineers who worked to introduce the package in time for the American race.
However, Leclerc warned that the performance demonstrated on Friday could be misleading when compared with what Ferrari’s rivals might achieve after completing their preparation.
He emphasised that Mercedes and Red Bull remained particularly threatening.
Antonelli and Verstappen emerge as principal threats
Leclerc identified Antonelli and Verstappen as two of the strongest opponents Ferrari will face during qualifying.
The Mercedes driver improved significantly between FP1 and FP2, reducing his deficit to just 42 thousandths of a second.
Verstappen also remained competitive throughout Friday, having finished second in FP1 before securing third in the afternoon.
Leclerc believes both drivers could gain performance as their teams refine their cars.
“Kimi and Max seem to be very strong,” he acknowledged.
He was less certain about McLaren’s position, noting that the team had not appeared to complete its best possible lap during the two practice sessions.
Lando Norris finished third in FP1 but dropped to seventh in FP2, while Oscar Piastri completed the second session in eighth.
Both McLarens finished more than a second behind Leclerc, although differences in running programmes complicate direct comparisons.
Vasseur expects five or six cars to fight for pole
Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur adopted a similarly cautious approach when assessing the team’s Friday performance.
The Frenchman welcomed Leclerc’s pace but stressed that the gaps between the leading manufacturers remained small.
He argued that the first practice session did not necessarily provide a reliable indication of the qualifying result.
Vasseur also explained that Ferrari still had information to analyse from its updated aerodynamic package.
The team intends to use Saturday’s final practice session to refine the SF-26 before qualifying.
He believes the fight for pole position could involve considerably more drivers than Friday’s final classification might indicate.
“I think that we have five or six cars that can compete for pole tomorrow,” Vasseur said.
The Ferrari chief also highlighted the importance of qualifying near the front because overtaking can become more difficult when drivers are following another car.
Hamilton looks for improvements after difficult Friday
Hamilton finished fourth in FP2 but acknowledged that he struggled with the car’s balance and the bumps at Circuit of The Americas.
The seven-time champion had been sixth in FP1 before improving his position during the second session.
Ferrari experimented with different set-up directions throughout Friday, giving its engineers additional information before the final preparations.
Hamilton said the SF-26 had not felt particularly comfortable over the uneven surface, although Leclerc’s performance indicated that competitive pace was available.
The team’s task is to understand how to make that performance more consistent across both cars.
Ferrari enters Saturday attempting to convert Leclerc’s Friday advantage into its first pole position of the American weekend.
When is F1 qualifying at Austin?
The final practice session for the United States Grand Prix begins at 12:30 local time on Saturday, October 24.
Qualifying follows at 16:00 local time, equivalent to 17:00 EDT in New York and 22:00 BST in the United Kingdom.
The complete United States Grand Prix qualifying schedule provides start times for the championship’s main international markets.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas this weekend, with breaking news, full coverage and real-time updates in its Formula 1 section.
