TEXAS F1 GRAND PRIX: FRIDAY PRACTICE RECAP

Friday at the US Grand Prix reminded fans just why the Circuit of The Americas has become such a staple on the F1 calendar, AUTO ACTION’s Reece Mautone reports…

Returning to the track, Friday’s practice sessions provided an opportunity for young drivers to prove themselves on track, and championship battlers to cement their early weekend dominance. 

Free Practice 1: 

– 5 drivers subbed out for the opening practice session, allowing teams to tick off one of their two required young drivers tests. 

– Former F2 driver Robert Shwartzman drove Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, Alex Palou, current Indycar driver, drove Daniel Ricciardo’s Mclaren, F2 driver Theo Pourchaire drove Valtteri Bottas’ Alfa Romeo, and rumoured for a 2022 Williams’ seat, F2 driver Logan Sargeant drove Nicholas Latifi’s Williams. 

– Antonio Giovanazzi, who filled in for Kevin Magnussen, caused an early-on red flag and did not resume the session. The Italian driver’s session did not count as Haas’ young driver testing due to his previous stint in F1. 

Sainz and Leclerc took out Fridays practice sesions at the Texas Grand Prix

– The newcomers ultimately filled positions 16-20, all under 3.5 seconds off the fastest pace aside from Giovanazzi, who had limited running. 

– Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez looked strong around COTA in their Red Bulls, holding the top two times halfway through FP1 on the soft tyre, however, Verstappen complained of no front end in the low-speed corners. The duo finished the opening session in P2 and P5, respectively. 

– Mercedes seemingly lacked in comparison to their championship rivals, sitting down in P15 and P17 with half the session to go, before ending FP1 in P3 and P7 after the W13 lifted on the soft tyres. Both drivers had dicey moments, with Lewis Hamilton getting squirrely out of Turn 1 and George Russell complaining of bouncing due to the bumpy track surface. 

– As one of the few drivers on the soft tyre, Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin had enough pace to manage a time fast enough for P2 at one point. His teammate held the fastest sector in Sector 2 2, and alike sat in the top 3 with 10 minutes to go. Both Astons had a positive session, ending in P10 and P4, respectively. 

– Fernando Alonso’s Alpine had a twitchy moment on the final Andretti Corner, while his teammate reported concerns about a heavy hit his Alpine had taken on the curbs. – Carlos Sainz sat securely in and around P4 during the opening session, before finishing off with the fastest time of FP1, a 1:36.857. 

Free Practice 2: 

– FP2 was an extended session, requiring an additional 30 minutes to adequately conduct the 2023 Pirelli Prototype Tyre Testing which was washed out in Suzuka. 

– Both Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez will be taking engine penalties for new PUs, a suspected 5-place grid penalty. 

– Running in FP2 was partially dictated by Pirelli: Firstly, on 20 kgs of fuel, all cars must have completed 3 consecutive timed laps without changing the setup. This must be done on each compound, however, the tyres remain unmarked. Additionally, testing the long-run performance saw the cars complete two 8-lap consecutive stints. 

– On their opening test tyres, the Ferraris held the top two positions, with Leclerc putting in purple sectors across the lap. 

– Alonso was held up by a slow-moving Hamilton, triggering a not-so-happy radio message to his team questioning the 7-time World Champion’s use of mirrors.

Ricciardo is big in Texas, and managed to grab P3 behind Bottas and Leclerc in Practice 2

– Lando Norris had a scary moment entering the pits. The Mclaren driver narrowly avoided drifting into the wall, as his former teammate, Sainz, likened the conditions to “Tokyo drift”. – Turn 19 claimed many victims, seeing both Norris and Hamilton experience nearly identical mistakes in which quick corrections limited the damage to their car on the final curb. – Vettel’s Aston Martin, despite putting in impressive times in FP1, required much mechanical attention in the latter half of the session, ending his FP2 prematurely. Alike, Verstappen’s car required mid-session work, ending his Friday running. 

– Of the remaining 17 drivers testing the 2023 prototype tyres, Sainz put in the fastest time of 1:38.222, ahead of Mick Schumacher and Lando Norris. 

– After missing normal FP1 running, Leclerc switched to the regular soft tyres, taking P1 in FP2 with a time of 1:36.810, followed by Bottas and Ricciardo who rounded out the top of the timing sheets. 

Tomorrow’s Qualifying Session in Texas will take place on Saturday, 5:00 pm track time (Sunday, 9:00 am AEST), setting the grid for what should be 56 laps of exciting US Grand Prix racing.

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