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CARLOS SAINZ LEADS THE WAY IN FP1 AT COTA

CARLOS SAINZ LEADS THE WAY IN FP1 AT COTA

21-10-2022 20:51 Last update: 21:08
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Carlos Sainz was the class of the field in FP1 for the US Grand Prix as he led the way, almost a quarter of a second faster than his nearest challenger Max Verstappen.

The Spaniard's time of 1:36.857 was enough for the fastest time of the session at COTA as he led the way from newly crowned World Champion Max Verstappen. The Dutchman's time of 1:37.081 was only enough for P2 but with the title already sown up the Dutchman won't mind. However, he'll want to provide a lift for the Red Bull team, after a fortnight overshadowed by the news that they breached the 2021 budget cap.

Lewis Hamilton was third, almost half a second back the leader Sainz with a time of 1:37.332. Hamilton and Mercedes have enjoyed so much success in Austin over the years and they'll be hoping a good result is on the cards this weekend, but a victory seems a little bit far off at the moment. 

Lance Stroll led for a period of the opening session of the weekend but he was pegged back and ultimately finished in fourth after doing some runs on the hard tyres. Sergio Perez was P5 for Red Bull, down on his teammate. 

Fernando Alonso was sixth, another good showing for Alpine whilst George Russell was P7. Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris and Sebastian Vettel completed the top ten.

Rookies take to the track

Several young drivers had a shot at showing what they're capable of in the young driver tests. Robert Shwartzman for Ferrari was P16, Alex Palou for McLaren finished P17 and Theo Pourchaire and Logan Sargeant P18 and P19 respectively. 

Antonio Giovinazzi was the other non-full time driver testing in FP1 as he drove for Haas. His time in the car didn't last long however, as he spun at turn five hitting the barrier.