Free Practice 1 (FP1) for Round 18 of the 2026 F1 season has been completed at the United States GP. View the full results here.
The first of three free practice sessions at the 2026 F1 United States GP got underway beneath clear skies at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto leading the field onto the track. Several teams brought upgrades to Austin, while Colton Herta replaced Sergio Perez at Cadillac for his fourth FP1 appearance.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the early pace before McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen challenged at the front. Leclerc eventually clocked a 1:36.761 to lead Lewis Hamilton by 0.074 seconds. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and George Russell also showed improving pace, despite Russell losing time to track-limit violations.
With 35 minutes remaining, Herta recorded his first timed lap but languished in 18th. Racing Bulls confirmed that Arvid Lindblad would face a grid penalty after taking a new internal combustion engine, while Gabriel Bortoleto was also set for a penalty following a hybrid system change. Nico Hülkenberg, meanwhile, reported an unusual power unit noise.
As teams switched to soft tyres for qualifying simulations, Leclerc lowered the benchmark to 1:36.052. Verstappen briefly took the lead before the Ferrari driver reclaimed it. Norris moved into third, splitting Verstappen and Antonelli, while Russell settled into fourth. Hamilton dropped to sixth after running wide and losing time, with Oscar Piastri seventh after a snap.
Williams delayed its running to conduct aerodynamic testing, with Alex Albon’s first lap deleted for track limits. In the closing minutes, Leclerc remained fastest ahead of Verstappen and Norris, followed by Russell, Antonelli, Hamilton and Piastri. Bortoleto and the Racing Bulls pair of Lindblad and Lawson completed the top ten, while Carlos Sainz’s late effort lifted him to 19th.
Track limits remained a challenge throughout the session, with several drivers losing times throughout the session.
2026 United States GP FP1 results
- Leclerc 1:36.052
- Verstappen 1:36.136
- Norris 1:36.297
- Russell 1:36.378
- Antonelli 1:36.533
- Hamilton 1:36.555
- Piastri 1:36.786
- Bortoleto 1:36.995
- Lindblad 1:37.063
- Lawson 1:37.309
- Bearman 1:37.665
- Alonso 1:37.688
- Stroll 1:37.783
- Hadjar 1:37.790
- Gasly 1:37.801
- Ocon 1:37.896
- Colapinto 1:38.121
- Hülkenberg 1:38.122
- Sainz 1:38.846
- Bottas 1:39.053
- Herta 1:39.979
- Albon (No Time Set)
