John N
Friday at the Circuit of The Americas had a different flavour, with the second practice extended to 90 minutes to allow Pirelli to test 2023 prototype tyres. That running means it’s tricky to distil a pecking order from the track action, but there are plenty of takeaways.
1. Ferrari’s early pace looks promising
Carlos Sainz set the pace in opening practice, finding his rhythm quickly and then maintaining it as the day went on. He feels like there’s work to do to get him comfortable over the bumps, but he was pleased with what he saw from low-fuel running and high-fuel running. With FP2 handed over to tyre testing —a chance for teams to run on new tyres before tomorrow’s qualifying session—there is a greater focus on that running in FP3.
2. Red Bull remains the favourites
Red Bull can win their first constructor’s championship since 2010 this weekend if they can beat Ferrari by 19 points. While Sergio Perez’s five-place grid drop for a new internal combustion engine isn’t ideal, it should not affect their performance. The four-time world champions are just a fraction off Ferrari when running on low fuel but move ahead when running heavier. However, Red Bull has work to do—Checo said they need to find gains on the high-speed versus low-speed balance. And while Max Verstappen may have already wrapped up his second drivers’ championship this season, he isn’t slowing down! He even did his first track walk in a long time to give him a chance to assess the bumps after the track was resurfaced.”
Sparks flying at Red Bull! 🎇
Relive all the action from an extended FP2 at @COTA 🎬#USGP #F1
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 22, 2022
3. Upgraded Mercedes delights Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton praised the efforts of his Mercedes team for bringing a new front wing, floor edges, floor fences and rear wing end-plate to the track. The upgrades won’t help them haul into contention for the win, though—with data suggesting they are in third place in both metrics. That said, Hamilton stated the car felt better around Austin, and if they can make improvements overnight, he doesn’t think they are far off the leading two teams. That could make this weekend enjoyable if he’s proved right.
ALO 📻: "Hamilton has no mirrors today. Unbelievable!"
Alonso wasn't overly impressed with Hamilton in FP2 😳#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/yP997pk8WA
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 21, 2022
4. Alpine appears to head midfield
The French team Alpine looks set to continue its edge over McLaren in this weekend’s F1 race, with the French team emerging as best in both short and long-run simulations. The Frenchman Pierre Gasly ran his upgraded floor on Esteban Ocon’s car in FP1, with Chief Race Engineer Ciaron Pilbeam saying it delivered performance as expected. He added that the car coped well on a resurfaced track, with Ocon and Fernando Alonso declaring themselves satisfied with their data gathering and early balance of the car.
Double overtake? Done ✅
Just Fernando Alonso prepping for the race come Sunday 😇 #USGP #F1 @AlpineF1Team @alo_oficial pic.twitter.com/v0Vz9YBYpC
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 22, 2022
5. Young guns get their shot to shine
The rules for this year’s F1 season mean that teams must run young drivers at least twice during an FP1. Four teams took advantage of this rule in Austin; Logan Sargeant, a favourite to make his F1 race debut next year with Williams if he secures enough Super License points this year, was one; Alfa Romeo was delighted with Theo Pourchaire’s first shot in an F1 car; McLaren was happy to let IndyCar champion Alex Palou get some push laps under his belt once he’d completed his data gathering programme, and Ferrari was able to gather more data on their junior Robert Shwartzman during FP2. A good day all round!
