Leclerc edges Antonelli to complete US GP practice double

Charles Leclerc topped the times during first practice at the United States Grand Prix weekend. FP1 United States 2026 FP1: Leclerc fastest in first practice for the United States GP ahead of Verstappen and Norris Charles Leclerc topped the times during first practice at the United States Grand Prix weekend. The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were fourth and fifth respectively – with the young Italian having the chance to potentially seal his maiden title this weekend – while Leclerc’s Ferrari team mate Lewis Hamilton settled for sixth.

With the drivers keen to get going at the Circuit of The Americas, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto led the pack out as the session got underway at 1230 local time. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Cadillac’s Colton Herta – taking the seat of Sergio Perez for FP1 – were both sporting large aero rakes at the start as they sought to gain valuable data. As the lap times started to come in, with the track bathed in Texas sunshine, there was initial concern from Verstappen over the radio about his steering as he reported to his team that there was “some kind of friction” while turning left.

It didn't seem to hinder the four-time champion as FP1 continued. With a quarter of the session gone it was Leclerc who topped the initial times after posting a lap just 0.074s faster than team mate Lewis Hamilton on the medium tyre. Much had been made about the upgrades the Scuderia had brought to Austin with the signs looking promising.

Meanwhile Russell was reporting back to his Mercedes team to check the front wing, citing that he suddenly experienced lots of understeer. Soon after, however, the Briton posted a time good enough for fifth on the hard compound, just behind his team mate Antonelli who had elevated himself to fourth on the same tyre. Practice 1 results FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX 2026 Pos.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc edged out Kimi Antonelli to complete a Friday practice double at the United States Grand Prix. United States GP: Charles Leclerc edges Kimi Antonelli in Practice Two to complete Friday double for Ferrari Charles Leclerc tops both Friday practice sessions in Austin; Ferrari driver edged out Kimi Antonelli in second practice; watch every United States GP session live on Sky Sports F1, with qualifying at 10pm on Saturday and the race at 8pm on Sunday Friday 23 October 2026 23:33, UK Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Highlights from Friday's practice sessions at the United States Grand Prix.

Apple TV subscribers in the US can now watch Formula 1 live in Dolby Atmos, starting with this weekend’s United States Grand Prix. Here’s the schedule.

After narrowly topping Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the opening session, Leclerc improved by almost eight tenths of a second later in the day to finish 0.042s clear of Mercedes' Antonelli, who could become Formula 1's youngest ever world champion on Sunday. Verstappen appears to be in contention to extend his streak of two successive victories after finishing the second session in third, within a couple of tenths of Leclerc's leading time of 1:35.291s.

United States GP: UK schedule and how to watch on Sky Sports How Kimi Antonelli can win F1 world title at US GP F1 2026 Calendar | F1 2026 Standings | F1 Gossip Column Got the Sky Sports app? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream F1 with no contract 📺 Lewis Hamilton was unable to match his team-mate Leclerc's pace all day, and had to settle for fourth as he finished more than six tenths back from the Monegasque.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player George Russell was given a black and white flag for forcing Charles Leclerc off track during second practice at the United States Grand Prix. George Russell was fifth in the other Mercedes, but will also be looking for overnight answers as he finished seven tenths back from his team-mate.

Antonelli could clinch his maiden title if he wins on Sunday, and Russell and Hamilton do not score sufficient points to stay in mathematical contention. McLaren suffered a disappointing day as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished seventh and eighth, with both failing to deliver clean laps on their soft-tyre runs.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Max Verstappen made this cheeky move on Liam Lawson as he came out of the pit lane and nips around the outside on the RB first corner. Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull have each brought upgrades to the event, while Mercedes are still trying to optimise the package they brought two rounds ago in Malaysia that has so far failed to deliver the improvement they anticipated.

Ferrari's package, which featured updates to the car's floor, sidepod and diffuser, appeared to offer hope the Italian team could end a run of eight races without victory. There was early drama in the session as Russell was investigated for forcing Leclerc off track, but the stewards decided that there had been "nothing dangerous" in the manoeuvre as no further action was taken.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Ted Kravitz talks through Ferrari's fourth and final upgrades for the United States Grand Prix. Verstappen's team-mate Isack Hadjar cut a frustrated figure over team radio as he could only manage ninth, with Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson taking advantage to claim an impressive sixth.

Williams suffered a torrid afternoon as Carlos Sainz was 20th and team-mate Alex Albon 22nd as their car struggled to meet the challenges of the high-speed circuit. United States GP Practice Two Timesheet Driver Team Time 1) Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:35.291 2) Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.042 3) Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.189 4) Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.616 5) George Russell Mercedes +0.744 6) Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.040 7) Lando Norris McLaren +1.082 8) Oscar Piastri McLaren +1.096 9) Isack Hadjar Red Bull +1.120 10) Oliver Bearman Haas +1.245 11) Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +1.541 12) Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.549 13) Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +1.668 14) Esteban Ocon Haas +1.820 15) Franco Colapinto Alpine +1.910 16) Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.944 17) Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.978 18) Nico Hulkenberg Audi +2.139 19) Valtteri Bottas Cadillac +3.131 20) Carlos Sainz Williams +3.155 21) Sergio Perez Cadillac +3.745 22) Alex Albon Williams +8.135 Sky Sports F1's live United States GP schedule Saturday October 24 6.15pm: United States Grand Prix Practice Three (session starts at 6.30pm) 8.30pm: United States Grand Prix Qualifying build-up* 10pm: UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING* 12am: F1 Academy Race 2* 12.45am: Ted's Qualifying Notebook* Sunday October 25 5pm: F1 Academy Race 3 6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: United States GP build-up* 8pm: THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX* 10pm: Chequered Flag: United States GP reaction 11pm: Ted's Notebook *also on Sky Sports Main Event Formula 1 heads to The Americas for another triple-header with the United States Grand Prix in Austin up first this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1.

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Driver Time 1 Charles Leclerc LEC 1:36.052 2 Max Verstappen VER +0.084s 3 Lando Norris NOR +0.245s 4 George Russell RUS +0.326s 5 Kimi Antonelli ANT +0.481s View all standings As FP1 ticked past the halfway stage more drivers bolted on the soft tyre as the time for hot laps arrived, with Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg – one of the first to post a lap time on the C4 – reporting a weird noise from his PU on his effort. Leclerc continued to impress on the softs, cementing his position at the top with an improved 1m 36.052s time while Hamilton was nearly eight tenths back on his initial attempt having gone wide onto the dusty part of the track.

Verstappen then got in on the act at the top of the timesheets, initially splitting the two red cars before going fastest with a 1m 35.862s – though that time was later deleted for track limits at Turn 19. That left the Red Bull man back in second as Norris, Russell and Antonelli slotted into third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Hadjar and Lawson also lost lap times to track limits, as the drivers experimented with how far they can push the racing line on the circuit. Verstappen's fastest effort was ultimately deleted for track limits With the time continuing to tick down neither Williams car had set a lap time, the team reporting that the duo had only been doing data collection runs, before Sainz and Albon eventually posted times good enough for 19th and 20th.