The 2025 U.S. Grand Prix weekend began beneath clear skies in Austin, where the 5.513-kilometer Circuit of The Americas once again set the stage for high-speed contrasts, between optimism and frustration, confidence and confusion. The 56-lap layout, totaling 308.728 kilometers, remains one of Formula 1’s most technical challenges, blending punishing braking zones with flowing high-speed corners.
Last year’s race was a Ferrari triumph, with Charles Leclerc setting the 1:36.169 lap record and claiming victory after Lando Norris had taken pole in 1:32.330. A year later, the opening practice session suggested both a familiar and reshuffled order.
Session Overview
Lando Norris led FP1 with a 1:33.294, followed by Nico Hülkenberg for Stake Sauber and Oscar Piastri for McLaren. Fernando Alonso, Max Verstappen, Alexander Albon, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Isack Hadjar, and Oliver Bearman completed the top ten.
Norris’s run confirmed McLaren’s continued strength at COTA, but the real intrigue came from the midfield, where Stake Sauber, Haas, and Ferrari each told very different stories.
Stake Sauber’s Surprise Pace
Hülkenberg’s second-place finish was the early headline. His lap demonstrated genuine one-lap efficiency in the upgraded Stake Sauber package and reignited hopes that the team could disrupt the established midfield hierarchy. For Hülkenberg, it was another display of precision and consistency, the kind that occasionally vaults him into the spotlight when the larger teams stumble.
The performance underscored Stake Sauber’s progress in maximizing balance and power deployment on low-fuel runs. Even if race pace remains unknown, their early speed in Austin suggested a productive development direction.
Haas Brings Substance at Home
Haas arrived for its home Grand Prix with one of its most extensive update packages of the season, including a new floor, modified rear-corner winglets, and mirror-stay revisions.
Early telemetry indicated improved rear stability, though the team focused on data gathering rather than ultimate lap times. For a team often characterized by incremental steps, the upgrades represented quiet confidence rather than headline chasing. Still the team ended up 10th and 11th.
Alpine’s Season of Stagnation
Alpine’s weekend began with a sense of inevitability. The team remains absent from the competitive conversation and has shown little sign of reversing course. Paul Aron’s trackside comments, noting that the focus is already shifting to next year, effectively confirmed that 2025 development has stalled. For Enstone, it appears that expectations have reset from progress to survival.
Ferrari’s Familiar Frustration
Ferrari’s session encapsulated its entire season in a single radio exchange.
Charles Leclerc: “There’s oil… smell.”
The exchange, and Leclerc’s subsequent early retirement from the session, suggested another reliability scare lurking beneath the surface. The issue was contained, but it reinforced the pattern of near-constant mechanical uncertainty surrounding Ferrari’s weekends.
The irony of it all, a minor leak on the anniversary of Leclerc’s 2024 victory and on his birthday weekend, made the moment even more symbolic. Ferrari’s 2025 story continues to oscillate between flashes of pace and the nagging scent of misfortune.
A Brief Interruption
A short red-flag stoppage due to Stroll, viewed by many as unnecessary, paused running midway through the hour. It disrupted data collection more than momentum, but also highlighted how procedural caution can dominate modern sessions. Teams quickly resumed programs once the track reopened, focusing on tire evaluation and brake cooling in the rising afternoon temperatures.
Takeaway
Free Practice 1 at COTA reflected the full spectrum of modern Formula 1, technical ambition, unpredictable hierarchy, and a persistent sense of theater beneath every data point.
- Stake Sauber signaled genuine progress, putting Hülkenberg among the front-runners.
- Haas delivered steady, methodical improvement with its home-track upgrade.
- Ferrari again found itself balancing speed with fragility.
- Alpine continued to drift.
Norris’s pace confirmed that McLaren remains the benchmark for one-lap precision in Austin, but the texture of the weekend lies deeper, in the teams quietly rewriting expectations behind them.
Final Classification (FP1):
- Lando Norris – 1:33.294
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Oscar Piastri
- Fernando Alonso
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- George Russell
- Lewis Hamilton
- Isack Hadjar
- Oliver Bearman
COTA delivered its usual blend of humor, heat, and unpredictability, the unmistakable tone-setter for another wild Texas weekend.