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Carlos Sainz pipped Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari one-two ahead of Sprint Qualifying for the United States Grand Prix as title contenders Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were closely matched in practice.
Sainz topped the only practice session of the Sprint weekend in Austin by 0.021s from Leclerc, with Ferrari looking strong throughout the session as F1 returned after a four-week break.
Title protagonists Verstappen and Norris were together in third and fourth, two tenths away from the Ferraris but only 0.013s apart from each other.
Verstappen leads Norris by 52 points in the Drivers’ Championship with six rounds remaining but the McLaren driver has slowly been reeling in the reigning world champion.
The title fight has been ignited by Red Bull making changes to a contentious ride-height device, which may have influenced their performance.
Rival teams suspected a device on the Red Bull could allow them to advantageously change the car’s ride height via the ‘bib’ at the front of the floor when in restricted ‘parc ferme’ conditions, which would be in breach of the sport’s regulations.
Red Bull insisted it could not be used for anything untoward as it was not accessible to use when the car was fully assembled.
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Watch how Red Bull’s mechanic demonstrated live to the FIA how their ‘controversial’ ride-height device is put into the footwell once the driver is out of the car
Verstappen was the first lead driver to run the soft tyres in practice, so had more challenging track conditions to deal with on his best lap but was only 0.253s down on pace-setter Sainz.
Norris was 0.266 off the pace and Oscar Piastri was close behind in fifth, with both Red Bull and McLaren bringing upgrades to the Circuit of the Americas.
Sprint Qualifying takes place at 10.30pm later on Friday night, which will set the grid for the Sprint at 7pm on Saturday – live on Sky Sports F1.
Hamilton suffers dramatic spin as Mercedes struggle
Mercedes have brought a significant upgrade package to the United States Grand Prix but both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had a difficult practice.
Hamilton had a dramatic spin through the high-speed first sector as he went over a bump and his car did a full 360-degree pirouette early in the session.
Russell also had a moment as he spun at Turn One just moments later on the resurfaced track, which has made the lap times significantly faster compared to last year.
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Lewis Hamilton was lucky not to crash after he lost control of the car in a high-speed spin during FP1 at the United States Grand Prix
Hamilton was 0.361s behind Sainz on the soft tyre runs, with Russell another tenth behind, so Mercedes found grip on the softest compound.
However, their car looked like a handful on the harder tyres, which will be predominantly used in the Sprint and main Grand Prix.
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Oscar Piastri carried too much speed into the slip road and narrowly avoided colliding at the pit-entry during FP1 of the United States GP
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen was eighth, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in ninth and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 10.
Liam Lawson was 13th on his return to F1, as he replaces Daniel Ricciardo at RB for the remainder of the year, in a bid to impress Red Bull to earn a seat at one of their teams for 2025.
Lawson’s car has been fitted with a new power unit, which takes him over the limit of four engines for a season, so he will start at the back for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix.
Tsunoda and Lawson will be hoping to beat one another, with the potential chance of being Verstappen’s team-mate next year if Sergio Perez struggles in the last six events.
Perez, who has a contract with Red Bull for 2025, was 16th in practice and one second off the pace.
Sky Sports F1’s live United States GP schedule
Friday October 18
8.30pm: Team Principals’ Press Conference
10pm: United States GP Sprint Qualifying (qualifying starts at 10.30pm*)
Saturday October 19
6pm: United States GP Sprint build-up
7pm: United States GP Sprint
8.30pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook
10pm: United States GP Qualifying build-up*
11pm: United States GP Qualifying*
(Sunday) 1am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the United States Grand Prix
Sunday October 20
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 live on Sky Sports Main Event (Sunday’s race build-up from 7.15pm)
Watch the whole United States GP Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
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