With the Sprint back for the 2024 United States GP, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1:33.602) blazed to the top in the weekend’s only practice session. He outpaced teammate Charles Leclerc (+0.021s) and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (+0.253s), setting the stage for an intense Friday Sprint Qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas.
Here’s the complete rundown of the sole practice session at the US Grand Prix, straight from Circuit of the Americas!
Sainz Fastest Ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen in Sole 2024 United States GP Practice at COTA
As Formula 1 returned to life after a three-week break, all eyes were on Austin, where every team except Ferrari and Williams brought upgrades. The action kicked off the second the green light flashed in the pit lane, with drivers racing against time to fine-tune their cars for Sprint Qualifying and Saturday’s high-stakes Sprint.
Most teams spent most of the session on hard tires, but with just 10 minutes left, the switch to softs began as they hunted for one-lap speed. Carlos Sainz lit up the timing screens with a 1m 33.602s, edging out teammate Leclerc by a mere 0.021s in the un-upgraded Ferraris.
In his upgraded RB20, Max Verstappen claimed P3 (+0.253s) but was still two and a half tenths off Ferrari’s pace. McLaren’s Lando Norris snatched fourth, keeping the pressure on Verstappen in the title fight. His teammate, Oscar Piastri, finished off the session at P5 at the Circuit of the Americas.
Mercedes, with their ‘biggest update of the year,’ made an early impression at COTA—but not in the way they hoped. Both Lewis Hamilton (P6) and George Russell (P7) grabbed attention for all the wrong reasons, each suffering dramatic spins out on the re-surfaced COTA track. Completing the top 10 were Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (P8), Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso (P9), and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda (P10).
Nico Hulkenberg claimed P11 in the sole upgraded Haas VF-24, while Pierre Gasly returned from an early spin to take P12 in his special, orange-liveried Alpine, which resembled McLaren’s signature papaya. Filling in for Daniel Ricciardo, Liam Lawson secured P13, followed by Alex Albon, who struggled with a scrappy soft-tire run for Williams. Lance Stroll rounded out the group in P15, driving the second Aston Martin.
Rounding out the order came Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in P16, ahead of Esteban Ocon’s Alpine, the twin Kick Saubers of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in P18 and P20, and Franco Colapinto’s second Williams in P19.