Honda sees encouraging signs after the Friday in Austin

Sergio Perez set the fastest time during the second free practice session. It's an encouraging sign for the Honda teams, who have been working last night to optimize the car for qualifying later tonight. Max Verstappen did well in the long runs, while Yuki Tsunoda improved by over a second in FP2 at the still unfamiliar track for the rookie. Pierre Gasly fell just outside the top ten.

"It was hotter and more humid than usual for this event and in practice we worked on optimizing our PU settings for these conditions and everything went smoothly. Once again this weekend, our closest rivals for the championship look very strong, so we will have to do our best, working on every small detail to get the most out of our package to be as competitive as possible," Toyoharu Tanabe said on the official website of Honda.

"It's the first time we have raced here since 2019 and it was good to see a big crowd, even on the Friday, cheering the drivers and creating a nice atmosphere," the Honda chief continued.

Acura instead of Honda

This weekend, Red Bull and AlphaTauri will drive with Acura logos on the car, the high performance brand under which Honda operates in North America. "I'm pleased that Acura is represented here with our two teams, on the drivers' visors and race suits and, for the first time ever, on the cars themselves. It's good to see, as Acura is such an important brand in the States."