Leclerc Tops US Grand Prix FP1 as Antonelli Settles for Fifth in Title Weekend Opener

Charles Leclerc fired the first shot of the United States Grand Prix weekend, topping first practice at Circuit of the Americas on Friday with a lap of 1:36.052 in his heavily upgraded Ferrari. The Monegasque, whose car arrived in Austin with a revised floor, sidepod and diffuser as the team's final major package of the season, finished 0.084 seconds clear of Max Verstappen, who has won the last two races in Singapore and Malaysia and was also triumphant in Austin last year.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli had a quiet start to the most important weekend of his career. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver was fifth, 0.481 seconds off Leclerc's benchmark, behind Verstappen, reigning champion Lando Norris and teammate George Russell. Antonelli can become the youngest world champion in history if he wins Sunday's race and results go his way — but he has not won in three races since the Spanish Grand Prix.

It was a bruising session for several others. Alex Albon was last after three track-limits infringements erased his times, Nico Hulkenberg stopped with a technical problem, and grid penalties are already stacking up: Gabriel Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad will drop places for power unit changes, while Franco Colapinto takes a 10-place drop for new control electronics. Drivers continued to grumble about the bumps, with Pierre Gasly calling COTA "probably the bumpiest track we've had so far this year."