Leclerc Tops Antonelli in US GP Practice

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in both Friday practice sessions for the United States Grand Prix. Leclerc had narrowly topped the first session ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Later in the day, he improved by around eight-tenths of a second on his lap.

In the second session, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli came within 0.042 seconds of Leclerc's best time of 1:35.291. If Antonelli wins on Sunday, he could become the youngest Formula 1 world champion in history. Verstappen, meanwhile, finished third in the second session and is on course to extend his run of two consecutive race wins.

Lewis Hamilton could not keep pace with his teammate Leclerc during the day and finished fourth. George Russell took fifth. McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished seventh and eighth. Both failed to set a clean time on their runs on the soft tyre.

If Antonelli wins Sunday's race, he could secure his first world championship. Russell and Hamilton, however, cannot mathematically remain in the title fight with the points they can still score. Qualifying will start Saturday at 22:00, and the race will start Sunday at 20:00.