Leclerc leads Austin FP2 as Russell escapes penalty

Charles Leclerc completed a clean sweep of Friday practice at the United States Grand Prix, going fastest in FP2 after leading the opening session. The Ferrari driver set a 1m 35.291s lap and finished 0.042 seconds ahead of Kimi Antonelli as Mercedes showed stronger pace in Austin.

Max Verstappen was third, within two-tenths of Leclerc, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell completing the top five. Russell avoided a penalty after an incident involving Leclerc at Turn 18, where the Mercedes driver was shown a black-and-white flag for forcing his rival off the circuit.

Leclerc takes control on the soft tyres

Most of the field got out early, with drivers beginning on longer runs. The majority used medium tyres, while both Ferraris and both McLarens started on hard compounds. Verstappen nearly made contact with Liam Lawson soon after leaving the pit lane as he moved quickly to begin his race simulation.

Antonelli’s session began with a delay. He returned to the Mercedes garage for cockpit repairs and rejoined the circuit 17 minutes into practice. Russell, meanwhile, was placed under investigation over his clash with Leclerc. The stewards took no further action.

After the initial long runs, the field switched to new soft tyres for qualifying simulations. Verstappen had led on mediums before Leclerc’s soft-tyre lap put him at the top. Hamilton was third after the first set of quick laps, but Antonelli soon moved into second, just 0.042s behind Leclerc.

The quick running ended around the halfway point, with drivers returning to long-run work for the final 25 minutes. The order at the front did not change. F1LivePulse has also covered Leclerc’s response to criticism and Russell’s recent race weekends.

Tyre wear leaves strategy open

Lawson finished sixth, ahead of both McLarens. The session also raised a question for Sunday: tyre degradation was poor, leaving open the possibility that the race could require two stops.

Leclerc therefore ended Friday with the strongest timesheet position, while Mercedes’ pace and the degradation picture offered important talking points ahead of the race.