Bottas’s penalty and the quality of the circuit were the big stories of the day.
AUSTIN, Texas—It was apparent that Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was tired of the traffic. Still, teammate Sergio Perez had no trouble negotiating the twists and turns in Friday afternoon practice at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX. Perez took the fastest lap of the day with a 1:34:946 ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes’s Valtteri Bottas won the morning session but was awarded a penalty (due to an engine change) and will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid.
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo finished an impressive fifth, while Lance Stroll was sixth for Aston Martin. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. took seventh and ninth, respectively, while Verstappen ended a disappointing eighth. Giovinazzi rounded up the top ten in tenth.
Perhaps the biggest story on Friday wasn’t the practice outcomes per se but the comments many drivers made about the circuit’s quality. That was not good news for local authorities seeking to renew their contract for next season and beyond. Criticism came from Verstappen and Nikita Mazepin (Haas), who said that the circuit was bumpy and passing was a tricky proposition.
Otherwise, both practice sessions (morning and afternoon) were generally uneventful but not without attention.
Because of his impending move from Williams to Mercedes (and all the attention that comes with that seat move), George Russell was slow to get out of the pits. A quarter of the afternoon session went by before the Briton finally entered the circuit, far down on the grid.
Then, in the final minutes of the afternoon session, Fernando Alonso spun around coming out of turn 18 and lightly touched the barriers before returning to the pits with his engine still running. Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, competing for his seat next season, missed the pit entry coming in and had to reverse gears to enter properly. Finally, Perez and the second Haas driver, Mick Schumacher, collided in the morning session when the Mexican attempted to pass the rookie German driver from far away. The good news is that neither driver sustained major damage.
Next up is Saturday night’s qualifying session for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix. Qualifying will be broadcast live starting at 5p Eastern on ESPNN.
