Today’s F1 race schedule saw the first and only free practice session for the 2024 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. Most Grand Prix weekends include three practice sessions (FP1, FP2, and FP3) for teams to check out the weekly race car upgrades on the track. The USGP, is one of six Sprint weekends of the 24-week schedule, which means instead of FP2 and FP3, the team have a Sprint Qualifying session and the Sprint race itself.
A Sprint race allows drivers to earn extra Championship points (as much as 8 points for the winner) for themselves and their teams. Still, the marginally more leisurely pace of normal race weekends provides more opportunities for teams to adjust and tweak their cars. This weekend’s race is also notable because it follows a three-week break since the last race, the Singapore Grand Prix. There were no races, but most teams used the times to make the last likely major upgrades of the season, with six races left in the 2024 season.
What we saw during Practice 1
The USGP focuses on competition between Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen and McLaren driver Lando Norris, but nothing in the sole practice session indicated whether the Red Bull or McLaren upgrades will give either driver an edge.
Every F1 team made upgrades to their race cars except Ferrari and Williams. It could be interesting that Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc recorded the fastest lap times during the practice session. However, it’s not sensible to make comparisons when the teams are experimenting with different fuel loads, trying different tires, and testing various new components. Just for the record, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has the fastest lap time of 1:33.602 (minutes: seconds), but the times will undoubtedly be lower with successive events this weekend.
The next event is the Sprint Qualifying session, which will determine starting grid positions for tomorrow’s Sprint race. With 8 Championship points available for the winner, you can be sure the top drivers will all be focusing on their best laps.
The race starts steeply uphill with a hard left-hand turn. The wind is a factor at COTA on that turn especially, and a big American flag is flying near the top, which can help drivers determine how wind might affect them. The apex of that turn is at the peak of the hill, after which the track immediately descends, which means the race cars have the least traction when they need it the most and are even more liable to the effect of the wind. Several cars spun or overshot that turn during the practice session.
Another factor to watch for throughout the race events at the USGP is the track’s recent resurfacing. Because Ferrari and Willams did not upgrade their cars for this race, they didn’t need to experiment during the practice session. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, the Mercedes drivers, had issues with their cars going wide or spinning on turns. Nothing that happened, however, removed a bit of the drama about the Red Bull and McLaren competition for Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships.
