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November 14, 2025
Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg delivered surprise second fastest lap in F1 US GP practice splitting McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as Formula 1‘s latest sprint weekend kicked off in Austin.
The only practice session held on Friday was crucial for all teams due to the sprint format in place for the weekend, which means there was only one opportunity to dial in setups before sprint qualifying later in the day.
This put extra pressure on drivers and engineers to maximize their time on track and gather meaningful data. Early lap times were set predominantly on hard tyres as teams concentrated on long runs and gathering baseline data.
Lewis Hamilton initially set the benchmark on the hard compound with a time of 1:34.857, putting him ahead of Max Verstappen, who was second at that stage.
However, a red flag interrupted the running after about 21 minutes due to debris on track caused by Lance Stroll’s off-track excursion at Turn 19.
The brief delay lasting around five minutes did not deter the teams but it certainly disrupted the rhythm as they tried to optimize their limited running time.
Once the session resumed, some teams switched strategies and tyre compounds to extract maximum performance with drivers such as Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and George Russell opting to run on mediums, while Red Bull and McLaren drivers shifted to softer compounds to push for faster lap times late in the session.
Lando Norris ultimately posted a fastest lap time of 1:33.294, while Nico Hulkenberg brought a surprise performance to the forefront by finishing second, just 0.255 seconds off the benchmark.
Full 2025 F1 United States Grand Prix FP1 Results
Driving for Sauber, Hulkenberg’s strong showing highlighted the progress of his team and suggested that both midfield and top teams are pushing hard as the season approaches its climax.
Right behind him in third place was championship leader Oscar Piastri who finished just 0.279 seconds behind title rival Norris, as the Australian seeks to defend his 22-point advantage with six races remaining.
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Unfortunately, it was a tough session for Ferrari as Charles Leclerc suffered mechanical trouble related to gearbox issues that severely hampered his running and lap times.
Leclerc reported a smell of oil in his Ferrari and struggled gearing down, which relegated him to the bottom of F1 US GP practice timesheets.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz also encountered gearbox issues after completing just nine laps, which left him garage-bound and ended up in 19th, just ahead of Leclerc.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen rounded out the top five, followed by Alex Albon who secured the sixth fastest lap for Williams.
Mercedes’s George Russell was seventh fastest, as Lewis Hamilton managed to maintain a competitive pace in eighth, despite Ferrari’s general mechanical struggles.
Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Haas’s Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon filled the positions from ninth to eleventh, respectively, each driver pushing hard to gain every millisecond advantage possible on the demanding circuit.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto placed 12th, just ahead of Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda in 13th. Lance Stroll, despite his earlier off-track incident which led to the red flag managed to recover to 14th.
Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly and Mercedes’s Kimi Antonelli were in a tightly packed cluster from 15th through 18th.
