Formula 1 News: Sainz Jr. leads Ferrari 1-2 in USGP Practice 1

Carlos Sainz Jr. turned a lap of 1m33.602s in his #55 Ferrari to top opening Practice for the 2024 USGP at the Circuit of the Americas.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Ferrari brought upgrades this weekend, and they are working good so far as Charles Leclerc went 2nd quick in the #16 Ferrari, 0.021s behind his teammate.

Third fastest was points leader Max Verstappen in the #1 Red Bull Honda, 0.253s behind Sainz Jr, but he did his fast lap early in the session on a track that was evolving.

Lando Norris was close behind Verstappen in his superior McLaren, 0.266s behind Sainz Jr. while his teammate Oscar Piastri rounded out the top-5, 0.306s behind Sainz Jr.

As for Liam Lawson, P13 and only one tenth behind his teammate is a pretty good opening salvo considering he has never driven this track.

But can he replicate that when the pressure is on later?

So far Ferrari are the team to beat – but there is a feeling that not everyone has shown their full hand just yet.

Given how tricky conditions are, we could see some shock results later. There isn’t much time to get back in to the pits and back out if you flat spot some tires, and yellow flags could fly if plenty of drivers start spinning when they are pushing.

The session saw several spins, the biggest one was Lewis Hamilton, who lost control of his Mercedes at the high-speed Turn 4 and went for a wild ride across two sections of the track.

And the wind might be a factor too. All of which could lead to a very interesting session.

2024 USGP Practice 1 Results