Upgraded Ferrari sets the pace in first practice, but Verstappen is close behind

Ferrari set the pace in the opening hour of practice for the United States Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc went fastest in his upgraded car, ahead of Max Verstappen, the winner of the last two Grands Prix. Norris and Russell occupied the notional second row, putting all four leading teams in the top four. That sets up an intriguing contest for the rest of the weekend.

Ferrari brought a new floor, diffuser and sidepods to Austin in a bid to increase downforce and improve the car’s performance. According to Italian insiders, the upgrades should be worth as much as a tenth and a half per lap. The Italian team decided to put that to the test in first practice.

Charles Leclerc ran the new package and ended the session fastest with a time of 1:36.052. Lewis Hamilton was five tenths adrift with the old specification, but that gap cannot be taken as the true difference between the packages. The seven-time champion had a few problems on his laps, so it was hardly ideal preparation for qualifying. The engineers, however, have all the data available and will be better placed to assess how much of an improvement the new car offers.

Either way, had Hamilton put his three best sectors together, he would have finished fourth behind Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. On the other hand, it should be noted that the others also had room to improve.

Max Verstappen, for example, set a time of 1:35.860, two tenths quicker than Leclerc, but the FIA deleted it for exceeding track limits at the penultimate corner. Penalties and deleted lap times look set to be among the main talking points of the weekend. Every driver except Sergio Pérez had at least one lap deleted in first practice. We counted no fewer than 67 deleted times in total.

That is certainly not good news for Kimi Antonelli, who regularly struggles with track limits. Mercedes has also yet to get to grips with its new aerodynamic package, introduced in Malaysia. Russell and Antonelli could only manage fourth and fifth.

The leading teams filled the top seven places, with Isack Hadjar down in 14th. The Frenchman failed to complete a qualifying simulation, partly because Kimi Antonelli blocked him at Turn 13. That left room for Bortoleto, Lindblad and Lawson in the top 10.

During first practice, the FIA confirmed power unit component changes that will result in grid penalties for Gabriel Bortoleto (20 places), Franco Colapinto (10 places) and Arvid Lindblad (five places).