Ferrari leads Friday practice while track-limit violations surge at Austin

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in both Friday practice sessions at the Circuit of the Americas, reinforcing the team's strong pace heading into qualifying. Max Verstappen recorded the quickest lap in the first session before his time was deleted for exceeding track limits, while Leclerc’s clean lap in the second session left him half a tenth of a second ahead of Kimi Antonelli, who is also considered a potential race winner.

The FIA reported 79 deleted laps in the first practice and 128 in the second, with most violations occurring in turns 12, 19 and 20. The high number of infringements could influence qualifying if drivers struggle to keep their cars within the circuit boundaries.

Ferrari’s performance was encouraging after the team introduced minor aerodynamic updates for the race. Mercedes continued to evaluate its recent package, seeking to understand its impact after mixed results in earlier Asian rounds. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen appeared to resolve early steering issues, though teammate Isack Hadjar described his later-deleted fastest lap as “disgusting” after difficulties with front-end balance.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris faced challenges extracting competitive times, with Norris having five consecutive laps deleted for track-limit breaches. In the midfield, Racing Bulls, Alpine and Haas showed solid long-run pace, while Aston Martin and Williams encountered handling issues on the high-speed sections of the circuit.

Pirelli’s data indicated that the soft (C4) tyre will dominate race strategy, with a one-stop plan likely for most teams. The hard compound may serve as a backup if teams struggle to maintain soft-tyre performance.

Overall, the practice sessions highlighted Ferrari’s speed, a crowded field of track-limit penalties, and ongoing development work across the leading teams as they prepare for Sunday’s race.