The sole practice session for Round 19 of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the United States Grand Prix, took place at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin in the early hours of 19 October, Beijing time. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz topped the timesheets with a 1:33.602, just 0.021s ahead of team mate Charles Leclerc in second. Max Verstappen was third and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda tenth.
\
\
After an autumn break of nearly four weeks, the paddock returned to the Americas to begin a triple-header. The overhaul of the Circuit of The Americas, begun two years earlier, was now complete, with much of the track resurfaced. Sainz’s soft-tyre lap was 1.121s quicker than Leclerc’s pole lap here the previous year, highlighting the grip offered by the new surface.
\
\
Apart from Ferrari and Williams, the other eight teams brought aerodynamic upgrades to the event. The cars ran with flow-visualisation paint to collect data and check the correlation of the new packages, while teams worked through their set-up programmes in the Sprint weekend’s only hour of practice. Championship leader Verstappen waited until after the half-hour mark to switch to soft tyres and set his time, finishing third, 0.253s behind Sainz. Norris was fourth, just 0.013s slower than his title rival, with Piastri fifth.
\
\
\
\
Mercedes’ W15, carrying what was described as its “biggest upgrade of the season”, seemed not yet settled, with both Hamilton and Russell suffering slides during practice and finishing sixth and seventh respectively. Haas, also bringing extensive upgrades, impressed at its home event: Magnussen was eighth, ahead of Alonso in ninth. Tsunoda finished tenth, with Hülkenberg only 0.051s and Gasly 0.062s behind him, underlining how close the midfield battle was. Lawson, replacing Ricciardo and returning after around a year away, was 13th, 0.13s behind his team mate. Zhou Guanyu’s car was affected by a suspected power-unit problem; he completed only 15 laps before finishing early and ended the session last.
\
\
Sprint Qualifying will take place early on 19 October, Beijing time. The Sprint and Grand Prix qualifying will follow in the early hours and early morning of Sunday, 20 October, respectively. The 56-lap race will start in the early hours of Monday, 21 October. All times are Beijing time.
\
\
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:33.602 | 25 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.021 | 27 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.253 | 23 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.266 | 25 |
| 5 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.306 | 26 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.361 | 22 |
| 7 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.491 | 27 |
| 8 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +0.494 | 24 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.510 | 24 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | +0.711 | 20 |
| 11 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas | +0.762 | 24 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.773 | 24 |
| 13 | Liam Lawson | RB | +0.841 | 28 |
| 14 | Alexander Albon | Williams | +1.016 | 26 |
| 15 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +1.017 | 24 |
| 16 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull | +1.036 | 24 |
| 17 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +1.204 | 24 |
| 18 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | +1.439 | 26 |
| 19 | Franco Colapinto | Williams | +1.646 | 27 |
| 20 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | +3.617 | 15 |
\
