Charles Leclerc completed a strong opening day at the United States Grand Prix by setting the fastest time in second practice at the Circuit of the Americas, narrowly beating Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli as Ferrari maintained its position at the top of the timesheets.
Leclerc’s 1:35.291 secured first place, just 0.042 seconds ahead of Antonelli, with Max Verstappen third for Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth in the second Ferrari, while George Russell completed the top five despite having his soft-tyre lap deleted for exceeding track limits.
Mercedes also showed encouraging pace during the longer runs, although Ferrari and Red Bull remained competitive. McLaren, meanwhile, endured a more difficult session, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finishing seventh and eighth.
A Challenging Circuit of the Americas
The second practice session brought Friday’s running to a close, giving teams further opportunities to understand their cars and refine their setups ahead of the remainder of the weekend.
The particularly bumpy surface at COTA has emerged as a major challenge. The bumps are noticeably worse than last year and more severe than those encountered at other circuits visited by Formula 1.
Finding a setup capable of handling the different sections of the track is therefore especially important.
There are also concerns about the possibility of disqualification on Sunday, given the damage that the circuit can cause to the underside of the cars.
Leclerc had already led the opening practice session ahead of Verstappen, Norris and Russell, placing Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes in the first four positions and highlighting the close competition between the leading teams.
Major Developments Ahead of FP2
Several developments elsewhere in motorsport emerged before the second session began.
IndyCar’s planned return to Europe at Barcelona in 2027 attracted interest from Fernando Alonso. The circuit will no longer host Formula 1 next year, while The Race reported speculation about potential guest drivers participating in the European event.
Alonso, who has previous IndyCar experience, was mentioned as a possible candidate who might welcome the opportunity to compete in front of his home crowd, although no participation was confirmed.
Liam Lawson also attracted attention following another solid FP1 performance for Racing Bulls. Former Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko suggested that Nikola Tsolov should replace the New Zealander, although Marko no longer holds a decision-making role in the team’s driver programme.
Meanwhile, Formula 1 and the FIA are already working on plans for the next generation of cars. The proposals include a return to V8 engines, an almost complete removal of hybridisation and a targeted weight reduction of 80 kilograms.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu discussed his team’s persistent difficulties with inconsistencies between components, explaining that millions of dollars had been spent without finding answers. The team’s reliance on Dallara to manufacture its components was raised as a possible factor.
Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto welcomed the prospect of fellow Brazilian Rafael Câmara joining the Formula 1 grid next year, expressing hope that their presence would help revive interest in the championship in Brazil.
Lando Norris also addressed the consequences of the so-called Coca-Cola controversy, which followed his decision to drink a rival brand’s product after the Spanish Grand Prix despite Formula 1’s existing commercial partnership.
Verstappen Sets the Early Pace as Lap Times Disappear
Verstappen established the initial benchmark shortly after FP2 began, recording a 1:36.581 on medium tyres ahead of the Racing Bulls drivers.
Isack Hadjar reported difficulties closing his visor properly, while Leclerc initially moved into second place, almost a second behind Verstappen despite running the harder tyre compound.
Russell and Antonelli subsequently moved into second and third, but numerous drivers quickly encountered problems with track limits.
Leclerc’s initial time was deleted, followed by laps from Hamilton and Piastri. Antonelli also lost a lap time after reporting that his seat was sliding and moving inside the cockpit.
With several times removed, Gabriel Bortoleto temporarily climbed to fourth ahead of Lawson and the Alpine drivers.
Leclerc soon recovered second place before Norris took the lead with a 1:36.373 on hard tyres. Nico Hülkenberg moved into eighth.
Russell then lowered the benchmark to 1:36.035, with Hadjar climbing to third. Racing Bulls newcomer Arvid Lindblad also impressed during the early stages, running sixth between the two Ferraris.
Verstappen reclaimed the lead with a 1:35.934, approximately one tenth away from the lap time that had been deleted during FP1.
Mercedes, meanwhile, continued working on Antonelli’s seat after the Italian’s earlier complaints.
Russell and Leclerc Avoid Contact
One of the session’s most significant incidents involved Russell and Leclerc, who narrowly avoided contact.
Television footage showed Russell forcing the Ferrari driver off the circuit, prompting intervention from race control.
Russell received a black-and-white flag, and the incident was noted by the stewards before being placed under investigation.
The Mercedes driver ultimately escaped further action, with confirmation arriving later in the session that he would not be penalised.
Track limits remained a prominent issue throughout Friday. The FIA had already recorded 79 infringements during FP1, producing a document three pages long.
Williams also continued to struggle with the demanding circuit. Alex Albon flat-spotted a tyre and later suffered a significant moment in the opening sector, underlining the difficulties the team was experiencing with car control.
Leclerc Responds as Antonelli Closes the Gap
As drivers switched to soft tyres, the battle at the front intensified.
Verstappen improved to 1:35.480, while Russell and Hadjar temporarily joined him inside the top three on the same compound.
Leclerc responded with a 1:35.291, moving ahead of the Red Bull driver. Hamilton also improved to fourth, with both Ferrari drivers using soft tyres.
Lindblad briefly climbed to ninth, two places behind Racing Bulls teammate Lawson.
However, track-limit violations continued to disrupt the order. Hadjar lost his lap time, and Russell suffered the same fate, leaving both without a representative soft-tyre time.
Antonelli initially moved into fifth before producing a stronger lap that elevated him to second, just 0.042 seconds behind Leclerc.
Norris experienced a lock-up during his qualifying-style run and failed to improve sufficiently, while Piastri remained eighth behind his teammate.
Neither McLaren driver managed to challenge the leading times.
Mercedes Shows Encouraging Long-Run Pace
The second half of the session focused increasingly on longer runs as teams evaluated tyre behaviour and race performance.
Mercedes made a particularly encouraging impression during this phase, although Ferrari and Red Bull also demonstrated competitive pace.
Soft tyres appeared problematic for McLaren and potentially Ferrari, with mistakes becoming more frequent. Piastri was among those struggling.
Hamilton also reported difficulties during a longer run on soft tyres, explaining that he was losing time and struggling to keep the car on the track.
Elsewhere, Esteban Ocon complained after being impeded by Leclerc through two consecutive corners.
“Why is he doing that?” the Haas driver asked.
His race engineer, Laura Müller, indicated that Haas would report the incident to race control.
With 15 minutes remaining, 19 drivers were on track, with the two Cadillac cars and Franco Colapinto the exceptions.
The closing stages continued to highlight the challenge of managing tyres and maintaining control over COTA’s uneven surface.
Leclerc Leads as Williams Struggles at the Back
Leclerc ultimately retained the fastest time of the session, completing a Friday practice sweep for Ferrari.
Antonelli finished second, just 0.042 seconds behind, with Verstappen third and Hamilton fourth.
Russell took fifth without a valid soft-tyre lap, followed by an impressive Lawson in sixth.
Norris and Piastri finished seventh and eighth for McLaren, while Hadjar was ninth after losing his soft-tyre time for exceeding track limits.
Oliver Bearman completed the top 10 for Haas.
Bortoleto finished 11th ahead of Pierre Gasly, Lindblad, Ocon and Colapinto.
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll ended the session 16th and 17th respectively, leaving Aston Martin further down the order than in FP1. Hülkenberg followed in 18th.
Valtteri Bottas finished 19th for Cadillac, ahead of Carlos Sainz, while Sergio Pérez took 21st.
Albon completed the order in 22nd place after a particularly difficult session for Williams.
With Ferrari leading both Friday sessions, Mercedes showing promising long-run performance and Red Bull remaining close to the front, the opening day at Austin concluded with several teams still in contention.
For McLaren and Williams, however, the first two practice sessions revealed significant challenges ahead of the remainder of the United States Grand Prix weekend.
United States Grand Prix 2026 – FP2 Results
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time / Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:35.291 | 30 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.042 | 25 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.189 | 24 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.615 | 26 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.744 | 27 |
| 6 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +1.040 | 27 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +1.082 | 27 |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +1.096 | 27 |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +1.120 | 24 |
| 10 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | +1.245 | 28 |
| 11 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +1.541 | 27 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.549 | 27 |
| 13 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +1.668 | 29 |
| 14 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +1.820 | 26 |
| 15 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +1.910 | 32 |
| 16 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +1.944 | 26 |
| 17 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +1.978 | 28 |
| 18 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi | +2.139 | 26 |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | +3.131 | 24 |
| 20 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +3.155 | 28 |
| 21 | Sergio Pérez | Cadillac | +3.745 | 24 |
| 22 | Alex Albon | Williams | +8.135 | 27 |
