#F1 #USGP FP1: @Carlossainz55 heads @ScuderiaFerrari one-two by 0.021s. #UnitedStatesGP
Carlos Sainz, #55, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-24, Free Practice 1, Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix 2024, Circuit Of The Americas, Austin, Texas, United States Of America. Image credit to Chris Graythen/Getty Images. Sainz US GP FP1, US GP FP1 Results, United States GP FP1, 2024 US GP FP1 Results.
Sainz US GP FP1 – Carlos Sainz topped the sole FP1 session at the US GP ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari one-two as championship leader Max Verstappen rounded out the top three for Red Bull.
Sainz posted the session-topping benchmark of a 1:33.602 on the C4 red side-walled Softs and was a slim 0.021 seconds quicker than Leclerc as Verstappen was a further 0.253 seconds off in third.
Leclerc lead the C2 hard tyre runs in the opening half-an-hour of proceedings, posting a 1:34.966, which looked as though it would be the session-topper despite the qualifying simulation stints – although Sainz went slightly quicker to post a 1:34.717 on the hardest compound available for the weekend.
Verstappen then set a 1:33.855 on the softs, almost 0.8 seconds quicker than Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez’s RB20 entry went early on their qualifying simulation runs.
It took until the final ten minutes of the session before the majority of the field opted to undertake their performance runs, and Sainz found a quarter of a second over Verstappen to post a 1:33.602 best effort.
Leclerc slotted into second place with just over a minute left in the session, just 0.021 seconds off his Ferrari team-mate, although the Monegasque driver was forced to do an extra cooldown lap when a virtual safety car was deployed to interrupt his preparations for an early flying tour.
Verstappen’s earlier soft tyre effort was enough for third in the order as the two McLaren MCL38 entries who were heavily upgraded in Texas, placed fourth and fifth respectively – Norris ran too deep into turn 12 and lost time on his hot-lap, whilst Oscar Piastri defied track limits at turn 19.
Both Mercedes of Sir Lewis Hamilton and George Russell followed in sixth and seventh, but both drivers suffered spins throughout the session as their upgraded F1 W15’s looked a handful to tame.
Hamilton was sent off the track by a bump at turn four and avoided a collision with Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg, whilst Russell encountered a spin at the opening corner as he struggled with the uphill turn.
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen was eighth as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top ten.
The other aforementioned Haas VF-24 entry of Hulkenberg finished outside the top ten in 11th place and ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who was 12th as the returning Liam Lawson placed 13th for RB whilst Williams’ Alexander Albon ended the session 14th.
The second Aston Martin AMR24 entry of Lance Stroll took 15th and in-front of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who came a low-16th in the classification and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon who followed in 17th.
Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu were 18th and brought up the rear respectively as Williams’ Franco Colapinto split the pairing in 19th.
You can see the full Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix 2024 Free Practice 1 Report at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1247/united-states/practice/1
