Overview
- Charles Leclerc set the pace in first practice at COTA on Friday with a 1:36.052 in Ferrari’s upgraded car, finishing 0.084 seconds clear of Max Verstappen.
- Kimi Antonelli enters the weekend 102 points clear and can clinch the 2026 drivers’ title in Austin if he wins and Mercedes' George Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton finish low enough to leave him uncatchable.
- Multiple drivers publicly condemned COTA’s worsening bumps, with Max Verstappen warning of spine damage and calling for substantive resurfacing rather than repeated patch repairs.
- Teams used limited running to evaluate developments: Ferrari ran a new floor/sidepod/diffuser package, Mercedes reverted both cars to the Malaysia-spec package, and Red Bull arrives on a late surge after wins in Malaysia and Singapore.
- Practice showed tight margins between the frontrunners but also highlighted risks that could affect the title race, including power-unit penalties for several drivers and limited track time to dial in new upgrades.