Valtteri Bottas was the fastest in the first free practice before the USGP 2021 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. The Finn led his Mercedes colleague Lewis Hamilton, who was second fastest, and Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, who was third fastest in the session.
The Finn from Mercedes was just ahead of their British World Champion by 0.045 seconds. The two Mercedes drove their fastest laps on the soft tire compound, Bottas’ fastest lap was 1 minute 34.874 seconds.
However, it became known that the Finn will face an engine penalty for the race for switching to his sixth engine of the season.
Bottas fastest and Hamilton second fastest, while Verstappen is almost a second behind the pace in FP1 of the USGP
Max Verstappen talks to Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner in the garage during practice ahead of the 2021 USGP in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Mark Thompson / Getty Images)
Verstappen, who set the third fastest lap of free practice on the same tire, was almost a second behind the two Mercedes drivers. The Red Bull Racing title contender was 0.887 seconds behind Hamilton and a further 0.932 seconds slower than Bottas. The Dutchman is expected to have used one set of soft tires less than his rivals during the session.
Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz set the fourth and fifth fastest times in the session. Leclerc’s time was half a second slower than Verstappen’s fastest lap. However, the two Ferraris only separated by two tenths of a second.
Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly set the sixth fastest lap of the session, followed by Sergio Perez, who finished seventh fastest. The Mexican Red Bull Racing driver posted his fastest lap on a set of hard compound tires. Perez used three sets of hard tires and one set of soft tires in the session and appeared to be running a different simulation program.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was the only McLaren in the top 10 of the first free practice and finished eighth on the time table. The Briton only used two sets of soft tires during the entire session. Compared to McLaren’s title rival Ferrari, Norris was 0.347 seconds slower than Sainz and half a second behind Leclerc’s pace (-0.521 seconds).
Positive start to the weekend 
GIO 
P9
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P10 # USGP
GIO
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P10 # USGP https://t.co/4sP3e8pn2N
Alfa Romeo drivers Antonio Giovinazzo and Kimi Räikkönen finished ninth and tenth fastest in free practice. The two Alfa Romeo pilots were split by just 0.002 seconds, and their free practice run consisted of two sets of hard rubber tires and three sets of soft rubber tires.
The Alfa Romeos were followed by the Mercedes-bound Williams driver George Russell, who set the eleventh fastest time. Although the Briton tops the second half of the free practice time tables, he is punished with starting penalties for changing engines, turbochargers and MGU-H components on his car in the USGP.
The best view from @COTA, from @OconEsteban’s helmet camera! 
The speed, the sound, the landscape, everything about it is awesome! #USGP
# F1The best view from @COTA, from @OconEsteban’s helmet camera!
The speed, the sound, the landscape, everything about it is awesome! #USGP
# F1
Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso drove the 12th and 15th fastest laps of the session. The two Alpine drivers were split by the Aston Martin drivers Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel, who set the 13th and 14th fastest laps. Vettel confirmed on Thursday that he will switch to a fifth engine in his car. This makes him the third driver to receive starting penalties this weekend.
McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo was on the last five slowest laps of the session. The Australian landed at number 16 on the lap charts, followed by Williams driver Nicholas Latifi, who finished at number 17.
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<p>Alpha Tauri driver Yuki Tsunoda was ranked 18th, followed by Haas drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, who finished 19th and 20th in the first practice session of the USGP.</p>
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Since the first free practice session is only the start of the track before the USGP weekend, it is not a representative indication of the true speed of the drivers on the American track.
Most drivers collect their initial miles in FP1 around the COTA track to acclimate to the layout and tarmac conditions. As such, it is not the final answer to performance or a prediction for USGP qualifying or racing.
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