Practice for the 2026 F1 United States Grand Prix, round 18, began at Austin's Circuit of the Americas on October 23. Charles Leclerc led FP1 in 1:36.052, with Max Verstappen 0.084 seconds behind and Lando Norris third at 0.245 seconds. The top six represented Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes.
Verstappen's faster lap is deleted as Leclerc retains first
Leclerc led teammate Lewis Hamilton on mediums before improving to 1:36.052 after switching to softs. Hamilton went onto a dirtier part of the track on his first soft-tire attempt and could not immediately match his teammate, ultimately finishing sixth, 0.503 seconds behind.
F1's official report recorded a 1:35.862 by Verstappen, deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 19. His retained valid best was 1:36.136. The distinction decided the session leader: the table uses valid times and excludes deleted laps.
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were fourth and fifth, with Oscar Piastri seventh and Gabriel Bortoleto eighth. Racing Bulls occupied ninth and tenth, led by Arvid Lindblad; Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson also lost laps to track limits.
Cadillac runs Herta as Williams focuses on data collection
Colton Herta replaced Sergio Pérez in the Cadillac, completing 21 laps and finishing 21st. Williams focused early on data collection, with Carlos Sainz ultimately nineteenth and Alexander Albon 22nd. The official classification recorded Albon's valid time as 2:16.468 and his completed total as nineteen laps.
The order records each driver's fastest retained lap, with teams moving to higher-fuel race simulations later. Positions and gaps across different programs cannot be directly translated into qualifying or race strength. After FP1, teams returned for FP2 at 16:00 local time that day to continue weekend preparations.
FP1 results
| Position | Car number | Driver | Team | Fastest lap | Gap to first (seconds) | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:36.052 | — | 26 |
| 2 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:36.136 | +0.084 | 25 |
| 3 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:36.297 | +0.245 | 22 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:36.378 | +0.326 | 26 |
| 5 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:36.533 | +0.481 | 25 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:36.555 | +0.503 | 23 |
| 7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:36.786 | +0.734 | 23 |
| 8 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:36.995 | +0.943 | 23 |
| 9 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:37.063 | +1.011 | 26 |
| 10 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:37.309 | +1.257 | 22 |
| 11 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:37.665 | +1.613 | 23 |
| 12 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:37.688 | +1.636 | 22 |
| 13 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:37.783 | +1.731 | 25 |
| 14 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 1:37.790 | +1.738 | 23 |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:37.801 | +1.749 | 23 |
| 16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:37.896 | +1.844 | 26 |
| 17 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:38.121 | +2.069 | 23 |
| 18 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi | 1:38.122 | +2.070 | 21 |
| 19 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:38.846 | +2.794 | 19 |
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1:39.053 | +3.001 | 21 |
| 21 | 25 | Colton Herta | Cadillac | 1:39.979 | +3.927 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 2:16.468 | +40.416 | 19 |
