Max opens Austin weekend in fifth place

Published on 17 October 2025 by Misha van der Kroon

Four-time World Champion Max Verstappen finished the first free practice session for the United States Grand Prix in fifth place. On the 5.515 km-long Circuit of the Americas, Lando Norris set the fastest time in his McLaren, ahead of Nico Hülkenberg’s Sauber in P2. Oscar Piastri ended the session in third in the second McLaren, while Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and Max completed the top five. Max’s Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, set the thirteenth fastest time.

At the start of the first and, due to the sprint format, the only free practice session of the weekend, conditions in Austin are great. Air temperature sits at 29°C, while the track surface measures 39°C.

Max is the first to head out on track, running on a set of hard tyres, as is most of the field. Only the Aston Martin drivers opt for the medium compound.

Max is the first driver in this session to set a time, though Liam Lawson goes a few thousandths quicker shortly after. Several teams are running special liveries for this race, with varying degrees of success.

In the early stages, the top of the timesheets changes hands frequently. After fifteen minutes, we see something we’ve been missing for a while: two Red Bulls leading the way, with Max in P1 and Tsunoda in P2. However, the celebration is short-lived as George Russell jumps from P12 to P2 moments later, ending Red Bull’s brief one-two.

With 39 minutes remaining, the red flag comes out. Initially it’s unclear why, but it soon becomes evident that there is carbon debris from Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin in turn 19. As is usual in free practice, the clock keeps running, and after a few minutes, the session resumes.

Once the track is green again, many cars immediately head back out, most of them beginning long-run simulations. Carlos Sainz, however, has to park his Williams in the garage due to gearbox issues. The Spaniard doesn’t return to the track for the remainder of the session.

With just over fifteen minutes to go, drivers start switching to softer tyres for qualifying simulations. Some opt for the soft compound, others for mediums for these runs.

Red Bull Racing opts to send Max and Tsunoda out on softs. Max briefly jumps to P1, but Fernando Alonso soon edges past him by just nine thousandths of a second. Ultimately, it’s Norris who ends the session on top, putting his McLaren in P1 with a three-tenths gap to the rest of the field.

For Charles Leclerc, the session ends early as well. The Monegasque suffers gearbox issues in his Ferrari, unable to shift into seventh gear and reporting a smell of oil in the cockpit. With that, the first and only free practice session in Austin comes to an end.

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Results first free practice United States: