Free Practice 2 (FP2) for Round 18 of the 2026 F1 season has been completed at the United States GP. View the full results here.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who also topped FP1, led the second free practice session at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), setting a fastest lap of 1:35.291 on soft tyres. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli finished second with a 1:35.333, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took third with a 1:35.480.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly led the field onto the track, with most drivers initially running on hard or medium tyres. Franco Colapinto who faces a 10-place grid penalty after taking his fourth new electronics unit of the campaign was the only driver to opt for softs. Conditions remained hot and sunny, with track temperatures reaching 41°C and air temperatures just below 30°C.
Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto impressed early, while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ George Russell challenged for second. Lando Norris also briefly set the pace before Russell lowered the benchmark. Track-limit infringements affected Hamilton, Russell, Antonelli and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, resulting in deleted lap times. The stewards also investigated an incident between Russell and Leclerc after the Mercedes driver appeared to squeeze the Ferrari off track.
Hamilton climbed to fourth with a 1:35.906 as teams switched to soft tyres, while Haas’ Ollie Bearman moved into the top 10. Hadjar briefly rose to fifth with a 1:36.079 before Antonelli’s improvement pushed him down the order. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri also climbed to fifth but lost his fastest lap to track limits, dropping to eighth.
Williams endured a difficult session. Alex Albon, who failed to set a time in FP1, flat-spotted his medium tyres before briefly moving into 19th with a 1:38.035. Team-mate Carlos Sainz then posted a 1:37.701 to move ahead. Albon later lost his lap to track limits before recording a 1:43.426 in the final 15 minutes, leaving him last.
The order remained unchanged during the closing race simulations, with Leclerc ahead of Antonelli and Verstappen.
2026 United States GP FP2 results
- Leclerc 1:35.291
- Antonelli 1:35.333
- Verstappen 1:35.480
- Hamilton 1:35.906
- Russell 1:36.035
- Lawson 1:36.331
- Norris 1:36.373
- Piastri 1:36.387
- Hadjar 1:36.411
- Bearman 1:36.536
- Bortoleto 1:36.832
- Gasly 1:36.840
- Lindblad 1:36.959
- Ocon 1:37.111
- Colapinto 1:37.201
- Alonso 1:37.235
- Stroll 1:37.269
- Hülkenberg 1:37.430
- Bottas 1:38.422
- Sainz 1:38.446
- Perez 1:39.036
- Albon 1:43.426
