Leclerc Tops FP2 at COTA; Ferrari Shows Early Pace Promise
Charles Leclerc led FP2 with 1:35.291, holding off Kimi Antonelli by 0.042s and Max Verstappen by 0.189s. Lewis Hamilton was fourth, George Russell fifth. Long runs favoured Red Bull and Mercedes over Ferrari; Russell drew a black-and-white flag for contact with Leclerc.
FP2 Classification
Charles Leclerc ended Friday's running at the United States Grand Prix as the fastest driver on track, beating Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen to the top spot in FP2. [1]
| Position | Driver | Team | Best Lap | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:35.291 | – |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:35.333 | +0.042 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:35.480 | +0.189 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:35.906 | +0.615 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:36.035 | +0.744 |
| 6 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:36.331 | +1.040 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:36.373 | +1.082 |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:36.387 | +1.096 |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 1:36.411 | +1.120 |
| 10 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:36.536 | +1.245 |
Session Summary
Verstappen set the pace early on in FP2 on the medium Pirelli tyres, after finally doing a lap below 1m36s that was legal. [1] On the soft-tyre qualifying simulations the Ferrari came alive and Leclerc went fastest with a 1m35.291s lap. [2]
Leclerc completed an extended run on the soft compound, eventually taking the tyres to 16 laps old. [3] The later long runs tended to favour Red Bull and Mercedes over the Ferrari in terms of laptime averages. [2]
Incidents and Stewards Action
Russell was under investigation for forcing Leclerc off the track and had previously been shown the black and white flag for the incident; the stewards later ruled that no further action was required. [1] The incident was at the long triple right-hander in the final sector; Leclerc had let him through and then re-passed him around the outside of the following turn. [4]
Race Control sent out 115 track limits deletion messages, more than in FP1. [4] Albon's quicker laps were all deleted and he's classified 22nd on a time from his long run. [4]
Related reading
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/fp2-leclerc-sets-the-pace-from-antonelli-and-verstappen-in-second-practice-at-united-states-grand-prix.4lRGhApoylA3exqOxagIqx https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/what-happened-f1-2026-us-gp-fp2-leclerc-ferrari-fastest/ https://www.f1-fansite.com/f1-result/2nd-free-practice-results-report-2026-united-states-f1-gp/ https://coffeecornermotorsport.com/united-states-grand-prix-2026-practice/
- [1]FP2: Leclerc sets the pace from Antonelli and Verstappen in second practice at United States Grand Prix (formula1). Accessed 2026-10-23.
- [2]What happened in F1 2026 US GP second practice (the-race). Accessed 2026-10-23.
- [3]F1 US GP Friday practice from COTA as it happened (crash). Accessed 2026-10-23.
- [4]United States Grand Prix 2026 Practice: Leclerc Tops Both (coffeecornermotorsport). Accessed 2026-10-23.
- [5]2026 US F2 GP FP2 Report: Leclerc Fastest, Antonelli P2 (f1-fansite). Accessed 2026-10-23.