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Charles Leclerc Tops FP2 At United States Grand Prix, Beating Kimi Antonelli And Max Verstappen
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Charles Leclerc set fastest time in FP2 at the US Grand Prix, 1m35.291s. Kimi Antonelli finished second, 0.042 seconds behind Leclerc.
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Leclerc tops FP2
Charles Leclerc ended Friday’s second practice for the 2026 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, in first place with a 1m35.291s lap, narrowly beating Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen. Leclerc set the pace in FP2 by narrowly beating Antonelli to the top spot, while McLaren struggled for grip as Lando Norris went off the road and Oscar Piastri went wide. Leclerc was 0.042 seconds ahead of Antonelli, with Verstappen third fastest at 0.189secs back, ahead of Lewis Hamilton at 0.615secs off the pace.
The Race described how Leclerc’s soft-tyre qualifying simulations “came alive” as he went fastest with a 1m35.291s lap, after Verstappen had set the pace early on the medium Pirelli tyres. Formula 1’s schedule then set up Free Practice 3 on Saturday at 12:30 local time, followed by Qualifying at 16:00, with the United States Grand Prix continuing on Sunday.
Tires, track limits, drama
Verstappen put his soft tyres to good use to claim top with a 1m35.480s, but the session shifted again as Leclerc stopped the clocks after 1m35.291s, two tenths clear of the Red Bull man. Norris was seventh fastest and did not set a time on his qualifying simulation run on soft tyres after making a mistake at Turn 16. Antonelli spent time in the garage fixing a loose seat that he described as "moving like crazy," and Russell was shown a warning flag after forcing Leclerc off the circuit.
"It was a bit of a difficult start because the seat was not fixed properly" and Antonelli needed to pit and leave the car for the best part of 10 minutes. The Race also said Hadjar sounded very unhappy with his car's balance as he could only manage ninth, while Liam Lawson capitalised to take Racing Bulls into the top six.
Title pressure and upgrades
Kimi Antonelli entered the weekend with a mathematical chance of tying up his first world title in Austin, and the BBC set the condition that he would win the championship only if he won the race and Russell finished below eighth and Hamilton below fourth. France 24 framed the same pressure by saying Sunday’s race would be the first opportunity for Antonelli to claim the championship early at 20 years old, and it tied that to Russell not finishing in the top eight nor Hamilton in the top four. Ferrari’s upgrade focus ran through the Friday running, with the BBC saying Ferrari have an upgrade here which is fundamentally a new floor, while Hamilton played down its potential impact with a quote about a very small change.
Autosport said the Circuit of the Americas’ bumpy mix of low-speed and high-downforce corners caused teams headaches as they homed in on the best set-up compromise for the 5.5km loop. As the teams moved on from Friday’s learnings, the paddock’s attention turned to Saturday’s Free Practice 3 at 12:30 local time and Qualifying at 16:00, with the United States Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday.