Leclerc and Verstappen, in a handkerchief; Alonso, good start in Austin
Charles Leclerc started the 2026 F1 United States GP leading the first free practice sessions in Austin, at the Circuit of the Americasat a hopeful start so that Ferrari I finally aspired to a victory that they have not achieved for eight races, since Silverstone, in the summer. However, the ‘bogeyman’ is there. He came second in Free Practice 1, but without a doubt, he is the big favorite. Max Verstappen began to show its claws by staying only 84 thousandths of a Monegasque with its Red Bull.
And you know what happens when Max It starts at the top from the first session. That Max starts on the right foot is synonymous with a stratospheric return in qualifying and great pace. And on a track like Austin, with Turn 1 that generates so many battles and in which the fight for overtaking can generate excitement, having Verstappen in the fight it can only be good news for the show.
But you have to be patient. It’s only the first free practice and everything can change. It is not expected that McLaren can be in the fight. In fact, Piastri assured on Thursday that they are one step behind teams like Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes. And for now, Norris was third, 0.245 behind the best.
And behind him, some mercedes that either they hid, or rather, they continue working to understand how to extract the potential that they believe is hidden in the new pieces that they presented in Sepang. In Malaysiathey were a disaster and the car got worse in everything. In Singapore, Kimi He said things got better, but it wasn’t anything to write home about either.
It will be necessary to see if austin The star team hits the key on an asphalt that will also be a puzzle for everyone. It is extremely bumpy and that not only complicates things for the drivers, but also for the car settings. And as always, on this track It is crucial not to get hung up on performance in fast corners, but rather to find the best balance to avoid losing in slow corners (1, 11 and 20).
And not only that: understand how much to commit your fast lap in the first corners to be able to reach the second and third sectors with the tires in good condition so as not to dilute yourself. Attacking with everything in the first sector causes overheating of the tires and a huge loss in the rest of the turn.
All the teams began to work on all this in an FP1 in which Lewis Hamilton started worse than Charles, 6th by half a second.
Good start for Alonso and Aston Martin
On Thursday, Fernando Alonso was optimistic. He thought that the Austin circuit might not be so bad for his car, but he was cautious. He preferred to wait to find out the performance of his AMR26 and the Honda engine (which hinders them on straight lines due to its lack of power) on the asphalt. And so far, its start was good, much better than in Singapore.
The middle zone was led by Audi of Bortoleto (8th), with both R.B. behind (Lindblad was 9th and Lawson10th). They were followed by haas by Bearman. And there were the two Aston Martins. Alonso was 12th, 1.6 off the best but only 23 thousandths behind Bearman, close to that Top-10. And the best news for Aston Martin was to see that Strolla good thermometer to assess the team’s performance, finished just behind, in 13th position, 95 thousandths behind Fernando. They can aspire to Q2 and a better position than two weeks ago.
For its part, Williams It started out much worse. Carlos Sainz He could only be 19th, against the two Cadillacs, 2.7 behind the head, with his teammate Alex Albon as a red lantern of this FP1, without setting a time.
