Carlos Sainz held off Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari 1-2 ahead of sprint qualifying for the United States Grand Prix, with title contenders Max Verstappen and Lando Norris closely matched in practice.
Sainz topped Leclerc by 0.021 seconds in the only practice session of the sprint weekend in Austin, with Ferrari looking strong throughout the session as F1 returned after a four-week break.
Title winners Verstappen and Norris finished together in 3rd and 4th place. That’s two-tenths off the Ferraris, but only 0.013 seconds off each other.
Verstappen leads Norris by 52 points in the Drivers’ Championship with six rounds remaining, but the McLaren driver is slowly reeling towards the reigning world champion.
The title fight was sparked by Red Bull changing its controversial ride height device which could affect performance.
Rival teams suspected that Red Bull’s device would allow them to alter the car’s ride height to their advantage via a ‘bib’ at the front of the floor in restricted ‘parc ferme’ conditions, which would breach sporting regulations.
Red Bull argued that the car could not be used in its fully assembled state and therefore could not be used for any other purpose.
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Ted Kravitz tells us all about the ‘controversial’ ride height device Red Bull admits to having fitted to its cars – and what Paddock is focusing on.
Verstappen was actually the first lead driver to use soft tyres, so although he had more challenging track conditions to deal with on his best lap, he finished only 0.253 seconds behind pacesetter Sainz.
Norris was 0.266 off the pace as both Red Bull and McLaren upgraded the Circuit of the Americas.
Sprint qualifying takes place on Friday night at 10.30pm, with the sprint grid set for Saturday at 7pm. Sky Sports F1.
More to follow…
Live US GP schedule on Sky Sports F1
Friday, October 18
8:30 PM: Team leader press conference
10:00 PM: US GP Sprint Qualifying (Qualifying starts at 10:30 PM*)
Saturday, October 19th
6pm: Building the US GP sprint
7pm: US GP Sprint
8:30 PM: Ted’s sprint notes
10 PM: Preparing for US GP Qualifying*
11pm: US GP Qualifying*
(Sunday) 1am: Ted’s Qualifying Notes
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Take a look back at some of the most dramatic moments from the United States Grand Prix.
Sunday, October 20th
6:30 PM: Grand Prix Sunday: US GP Strengthens*
8 p.m.: United States Grand Prix*
10 PM: Checkered Flag: US GP Reaction
11 PM: Ted’s Notes
*Also shown live on Sky Sports Main Event (race build-up from 7.15pm on Sunday)
Watch the entire US GP Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month membership. There is no contract and you can cancel at any time.
