Leclerc leads the way in Austin practice
Charles Leclerc set the pace in the second free practice session for the United States Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver narrowly edged out an impressive Kimi Antonelli by just four-hundredths of a second, with Max Verstappen finishing third.
Max Verstappen was the early pacesetter on the harder compound tyres, consistently topping the timesheets in the opening stages. The order was shuffled once the teams switched to softs after twenty minutes, which is when Leclerc posted his benchmark time that remained unbeaten.
Hamilton heads a competitive midfield pack
The session concluded with drivers focusing on long-run race simulations, cementing the final classification. Behind the top three, Lewis Hamilton finished a distant fourth, half a second adrift of the leading pace, with his teammate George Russell following in fifth.
Liam Lawson secured a strong sixth place, ahead of the two McLaren drivers in seventh and eighth. Isack Hadjar showed good progress to finish ninth, while Oliver Bearman completed a competitive top ten.
Session highlights
- Charles Leclerc topped the timesheet with a fastest lap of 1:35.421.
- Rookie Kimi Antonelli impressed by finishing second, only 0.040 seconds behind the leading Ferrari driver.
- The top three were covered by just over a tenth of a second, with Max Verstappen securing third place.
Full Results Free Practice 2 United States GP 2026
| POS | DRIVER | TEAM | TIME / GAP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Charles Leclerc |
Scuderia Ferrari | 1:35.291 |
| 2 |  Kimi Antonelli |
Mercedes AMG F1 | 1:35.333 |
| 3 |  Max Verstappen |
Red Bull Racing | 1:35.480 |
| 4 |  Lewis Hamilton |
Scuderia Ferrari | 1:35.906 |
| 5 | George Russell |
Mercedes AMG F1 | 1:36.035 |
| 6 |  Liam Lawson |
Racing Bulls | 1:36.331 |
| 7 | Lando Norris |
McLaren F1 team | 1:36.373 |
| 8 |  Oscar Piastri |
McLaren F1 team | 1:36.387 |
| 9 |  Isack Hadjar |
Red Bull Racing | 1:36.411 |
| 10 | Oliver Bearman |
Haas F1 | 1:36.536 |
| 11 |  Gabriel Bortoleto |
Audi F1 Team | 1:36.832 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly |
Alpine F1 | 1:36.840 |
| 13 | Arvid Lindblad |
Racing Bulls | 1:36.959 |
| 14 | Esteban Ocon |
Haas F1 | 1:37.111 |
| 15 |  Franco Colapinto |
Alpine F1 | 1:37.201 |
| 16 |  Fernando Alonso |
Aston Martin F1 Team | 1:37.235 |
| 17 |  Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin F1 Team | 1:37.269 |
| 18 |  Nico Hulkenberg |
Audi F1 Team | 1:37.430 |
| 19 |  Valtteri Bottas |
Cadillac F1 Team | 1:38.422 |
| 20 | Carlos Sainz |
Williams Racing | 1:38.446 |
| 21 |  Sergio Pérez |
Cadillac F1 Team | 1:39.036 |
| 22 |  Alexander Albon |
Williams Racing | 1:43.426 |
