Max Verstappen stood at the front of the grid at the American Grand Prix, chasing a second straight weekend of dominance after sealing the championship in Qatar. The Dutch driver carried strong momentum into Austin, where the RB19 showed competitive speed on the demanding Circuit of the Americas. With a clear goal of securing his 50th Formula 1 victory, Verstappen underscored his intent by posting the best time in the lone free practice session, 1.35.912, during the final seven minutes while on soft tires. That lap remained the only benchmark before the crucial pole run scheduled for 23:00 local time that evening.
Behind Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez secured the next three positions. A freshly upgraded Haas car helped Kevin Magnussen land a provisional top five. Carlos Sainz dropped to eighth after misjudging a sector in his flying lap, though Scuderia personnel believed his overall pace was close to Leclerc’s early pace in the session.
Aston Martin’s challenging start in the United States
Aston Martin arrived at the American round with four major updates to the AMR23. The team revised the ground-effect geometry by adding a longitudinal slot and an extended outer wing element. Additional tweaks included changes to the diffuser, the engine cover, and the chord of the airfoil profile. The updates were significant enough to be tested in a single practice session, and the results began on a tough note for the squad.
As the session unfolded, brake cooling for Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso became an issue, forcing both drivers back to the pits. Stroll faced the harsher outcome, missing the remainder of the session, while Alonso managed to complete the allotted time with only a brief interruption. The day did little to quiet questions about the AMR23, as the British team works to sharpen the car for a late-season push, aiming to keep rival McLaren at bay—McLaren sat just 11 points behind in the fight for fourth place in the Constructors’ standings.
Among the drivers, Alonso, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri were the only ones who ran longer stints on medium and hard compounds rather than soft tires. Their strategy helped them avoid a soft-tire disadvantage and left them toward the lower end of the timing sheets for that session. The data gathered from this test would feed directly into the next phase of development as teams refine setups for the final races of the year.
Source attributions: [citation]