Austin (United States) (AFP)
Max Verstappen of the Netherlands (Red Bull-Honda) set the fastest time of the first free practice session of the United States Grand Prix, 19th round of the Formula 1 World Championship, on Friday at the Circuit of the Americas (5,513 km ) in Austin (Texas):
In sunny but cold weather and on a track that became very bumpy compared to last year, the Dutchman beat Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) and his teammate at Red Bull, Alexander Albon.
Lewis Hamilton, who could be crowned at the end of this Grand Prix world champion for the 6th time, only achieved the 8th time. He repeatedly complained of bumps on the course and saw his best time canceled for being out of bounds, a mishap that happened to several other drivers during this first free practice session.
Note the good performance of the French Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso), 4th time of this session, and Romain Grosjean (Haas), 6th.
Canadian Nicolas Latifi, who had taken the wheel of the Williams usually assigned to George Russell for this session, was able to make only a few laps before being a victim of gearbox problems.
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