At a glance
Charles Leclerc was fastest in Practice 2 at the 2026 United States Grand Prix with a 1:35.291, 0.042s ahead of Kimi Antonelli.
- Fastest
- Charles LeclercFerrari
- Gap to P2
- 0.042sto Antonelli
- Top three
- Leclerc, Antonelli, Verstappen
- Best lap
- 1:35.291
Charles Leclerc was fastest in Practice 2 for the United States Grand Prix, edging championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 0.042 seconds at the Circuit of the Americas.
Leclerc, who also finished fastest in Friday’s opening practice, posted a 1:35.291 to lead Antonelli and Max Verstappen in third. Yet while Ferrari and Mercedes put both cars into the top five, it was the longer high-fuel stints that gave the clearest indication of race trim.
| Pos | Driver | Best lap | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles LeclercFerrari | 1:35.291 S | |
| 2 | Kimi AntonelliMercedes | 1:35.333 S | +0.042 |
| 3 | Max VerstappenRed Bull | 1:35.480 S | +0.189 |
| 4 | Lewis HamiltonFerrari | 1:35.906 S | +0.615 |
| 5 | George RussellMercedes | 1:36.035 S | +0.744 |
| 6 | Liam LawsonRacing Bulls | 1:36.331 S | +1.040 |
| 7 | Lando NorrisMcLaren | 1:36.373 H | +1.082 |
| 8 | Oscar PiastriMcLaren | 1:36.387 S | +1.096 |
| 9 | Isack HadjarRed Bull | 1:36.411 S | +1.120 |
| 10 | Oliver BearmanHaas | 1:36.536 S | +1.245 |
| 11 | Gabriel BortoletoAudi | 1:36.832 M | +1.541 |
| 12 | Pierre GaslyAlpine | 1:36.840 S | +1.549 |
| 13 | Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls | 1:36.959 S | +1.668 |
| 14 | Esteban OconHaas | 1:37.111 S | +1.820 |
| 15 | Franco ColapintoAlpine | 1:37.201 S | +1.910 |
| 16 | Fernando AlonsoAston Martin | 1:37.235 S | +1.944 |
| 17 | Lance StrollAston Martin | 1:37.269 S | +1.978 |
| 18 | Nico HulkenbergAudi | 1:37.430 S | +2.139 |
| 19 | Valtteri BottasCadillac | 1:38.422 S | +3.131 |
| 20 | Carlos SainzWilliams | 1:38.446 S | +3.155 |
| 21 | Sergio PerezCadillac | 1:39.036 S | +3.745 |
| 22 | Alexander AlbonWilliams | 1:43.426 S | +8.135 |
Tyre choices and high-fuel averages
Nine of the top ten set their fastest laps on soft tyres, including Leclerc, Antonelli, Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Liam Lawson, Oscar Piastri, Isack Hadjar, and Oliver Bearman. Lando Norris was the lone disrupter in seventh, setting his 1:36.373 on the hard compound. Leclerc ran three sets in total during the hour—cycling from hard to two soft sets—on a dry track that peaked at 43.2°C.
The long-run averages (taken across six or more laps with out-laps omitted) offered a far closer picture. Leclerc led the way with a 1:41.011 average over seven laps on softs, but Norris looked formidable on hards, delivering an average of 1:41.289 across eight laps. Verstappen clocked a 1:41.410 average over 10 laps on softs, while Antonelli was right on that pace at 1:41.433 over eight laps on the medium compound.
Track limits catch out front-runners
While Franco Colapinto racked up 32 laps—the most of any driver as the field completed 589 laps in total—plenty of running was wiped out by policing at the margins. Stewards deleted 125 lap times for track limit breaches. Norris was the biggest offender with 13 deleted laps, Hadjar had 11 wiped, and both Hamilton and Alexander Albon lost 10 times each.
Practice 3 is scheduled for Saturday at 17:30 UTC. The dry weather is set to hold through the weekend, with Saturday’s final practice expected to run under partly cloudy skies at 27°C, alongside an 18 km/h breeze.
| Session | Weather | Temp | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 3 Practice 3 | Partly cloudy | 27°C | 0 mm / h |
| Qualifying Qualifying | Partly cloudy | 29°C | 0 mm / h |
| Grand Prix Grand Prix | Partly cloudy | 27°C | 0 mm / h |
Timing data: OpenF1. Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Charts and results card by Slip Stream GP.
Quick answers
Who was fastest in Practice 2 at the 2026 United States Grand Prix?
Charles Leclerc was fastest in Practice 2 at the 2026 United States Grand Prix with a 1:35.291, 0.042s ahead of Kimi Antonelli.
How close was the top three?
Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen were covered by 0.189s.
This report was written automatically with the help of AI (Google Gemini), from public timing data. Every number in the tables and charts comes straight from the data. Spotted a mistake? Tell me.
- Published by
- Pasindu Senavirathna
- Last updated