LECLERC QUICKEST IN AUSTIN IN SECOND PRACTICE SESSION DEFINED BY TYRE TESTING
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the timesheet in a second practice session for the 2022 FIA United States Grand Prix in which lap times were rendered largely meaning as drivers tested 2023 tyre compounds.
Leclerc, along with second-placed Valtteri Bottas and third-placed Daniel Ricciardo sat out the earlier session to make way for rookie drivers and therefore were allowed to run 2022 tyres as well as next year’s test tyres as they got their first taste of the track this weekend in the second session. The regular running for 35 minutes of the 90 specified allowed the trio to claim the session’s top spots.
Bottas, on 2022 medium tyres, set the early pace with a lap of 1:40.655 before Ricciardo moved to P1 with a lap of 1:40.474 also set on mediums. Leclerc then went quicker still, on this year’s soft tyres, to take top sport with a lap of 1:38.856. The Monegasque driver then topped his own P1 time with a lap of 1:37.614. The Ferrari driver headed back to the pit lane, switched to medium tyres and posted the session’s quickest lap of 1:36.810s as the 15-minute mark arrived.
Behind Leclerc, Bottas switch from mediums to 2022 softs and took second place, 0.715s behind the Ferrari driver as Ricciardo, following a similar plan to the Alfa Romeo driver, posted a best lap of 1:37.627 to take third.
Behind them, Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari was the quickest of the drivers who solely ran test tyres headed the drivers that only ran the new prototype compounds. Sainz was followed by Haas’ Mick Schumacher, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and the second Red Bull of Sergio Pérez rounding out the top 10.
2022 FIA Formula 1 United States Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:36.810 37 205.007
2 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:37.525 0.715 37 203.504
3 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:37.627 0.817 40 203.292
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:38.232 1.422 26 202.040
5 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:39.507 2.697 26 199.451
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:39.547 2.737 26 199.371
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:39.575 2.765 26 199.315
8 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:39.698 2.888 26 199.069
9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:39.840 3.030 26 198.786
10 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1:39.852 3.042 26 198.762
11 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:40.084 3.274 24 198.301
12 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:40.178 3.368 26 198.115
13 George Russell Mercedes 1:40.562 3.752 26 197.358
14 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:40.664 3.854 26 197.158
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:40.806 3.996 26 196.881
16 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:41.310 4.500 26 195.901
17 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:41.334 4.524 26 195.855
18 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:41.853 5.043 26 194.857
19 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:41.857 5.047 26 194.849
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:42.317 5.507 26 193.973
SAINZ QUICKEST IN OPENING PRACTICE AT COTA
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz went quickest in the opening practice session for the 2022 FIA Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, beating Red Bull Racing’s World Champion elect Max Verstappen by two tenths of a second as third place went to Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon led the way early in the session on C3 medium compound tyres before Sainz jumped to the top of the order on C4 soft tyres. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez then took top spot before the session was halted after seven minutes when Antonio Giovinazzi, deputising for Kevin Magnussen at Haas, crashed in the snaking first sector. The Italian was able to get back on track and limped back to the pits but there his session ended.
When the action resumed Verstappen emerged and the Dutch driver vaulted to the top of the order with a lap of 1:38.272 set on soft tyres. Sainz then lowered the benchmark to 1:37.462s at the halfway point but Verstappen bypassed the Spaniard once more.
Hamilton then popped up with a good time in a revised Mercedes W13 to get to within twio tenths of Verstappen. But with a quarter of the session remaining, Sainz jumped ahead of both rivals with a lap of 1:36.867 to top the session by two tenths over Verstappen, with Hamilton ending on a 1m37.332s.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll too fourth place ahead of Pérez with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in sixth place ahead of the second Mercedes of George Russell. Pierre Gasly was eight for AlphaTauri with McLaren’s Lando Lando Norris in ninth place ahead of the second Aston of Sebastian Vettel.
The session was notable for the presence of a number of rookie drivers with Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman, taking 16th ahead of 2022 IndyCar champion Alex Palou who was in for Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren. Theo Pourchaire finished 18thy ahead of US driver Logan Sargeant who replaced Nicholas Latifi at Williams.
2022 FIA Formula 1 United States Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
1 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:36.857 19 204.908
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:37.081 0.224 15 204.435
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:37.332 0.475 20 203.908
4 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:37.460 0.603 23 203.640
5 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1:37.515 0.658 19 203.525
6 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:37.713 0.856 25 203.113
7 George Russell Mercedes 1:37.802 0.945 23 202.928
8 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:37.810 0.953 24 202.911
9 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:37.856 0.999 23 202.816
10 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:38.041 1.184 25 202.433
11 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:38.102 1.245 24 202.307
12 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:38.276 1.419 21 201.949
13 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:38.422 1.565 21 201.650
14 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:38.898 2.041 23 200.679
15 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:38.922 2.065 20 200.630
16 Robert Shwartzman Ferrari 1:38.951 2.094 21 200.572
17 Alex Palou McLaren/Mercedes 1:39.911 3.054 21 198.644
18 Théo Pourchaire Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:40.175 3.318 19 198.121
19 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1:40.325 3.468 23 197.825
20 Antonio Giovinazzi Haas/Ferrari 1:43.063 6.206 4 192.569
