US GP: Sainz leads Verstappen in Practice 1 at COTA

Carlos Sainz set the early pace for Ferrari as young drivers heavily featured in Practice 1 at the US Grand Prix on Friday.

With FP2 being used as a Pirelli tyre test for 2023, the opening hour of running was pivotal for teams to find the right setup for the weekend to come.

Unfortunately for Antonio Giovinazzi, stepping in for Kevin Magnussen at Haas, he could cause an early red flag after spinning into the barrier at Turn 6.

The Italian was able to free himself from the Techpro and return to the pits, but the damage was too much for the team to repair.

When the session resumed, Verstappen immediately went out on the soft tyre and went fastest by half a second ahead of the two Alpines.

Sergio Perez joined the Dutchman at the top, albeit eight-tenths behind Max who improved into the 1m37s on his second flying lap.

Carlos Sainz briefly split the two Red Bulls before Sebastian Vettel moved to within half a second of Verstappen in his Aston Martin.

In the other Ferrari, Academy driver Robert Shwartzmann became the first non-race driver to ever feature in a race weekend session for the Scuderia.

After a slow start due to a seat issue, the F2 driver would start putting in laps some two seconds off Sainz’s pace.

Also making a steady start was Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton conducting aero work, but George Russell would move into the top 10 after switching to the soft tyre.

The seven-time world champion would then jump up to second after he also bolted on the red-striped compound.

Then came a surprise as Lance Stroll went quickest for Aston Martin, 0.002s ahead of Verstappen’s earlier benchmark.

A new set of tyres though saw Sainz usurp the Canadian by six-tenths in the Ferrari and into the 1m36s, while Perez only went fourth on fresh softs.

Hamilton improved to second but was displaced by Verstappen who went two-tenths slower than Sainz as he returned to the track.

Further down, Fernando Alonso moved up to sixth and Pierre Gasly eighth. Lando Norris sat around the bottom of the top 10 all session, eventually claiming P9 for McLaren.

Vettel, the first winner at COTA in 2012, rounded out the top 10 after sliding off track but continuing in his Aston Martin.

Further down, Esteban Ocon was 11th ahead of Zhou Guanyu and Alex Albon in 13th for Williams.

Yuki Tsunoda was 14th and Mick Schumacher the last of the regular drivers in 15th.

Of the young drivers, Shwartzman was perhaps unsurprisingly quickest in a Ferrari in 16th, a second clear of 2021 IndyCar champion Alex Palou in the McLaren.

Alfa Romeo junior Theo Pourchaire was 18th, a tenth faster than F2 rival Logan Sargeant in the Williams.

Giovinazzi brought up the field after his early crash in the Haas.

At the front, Sainz set a strong pace for Ferrari on a positive start for the Scuderia in Austin.

Full results from Practice 1 can be seen below: