Hamilton estimates Ferrari's Austin upgrade at about half a tenth

Before the United States Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton estimated Ferrari's new package would deliver about half a tenth. He said he did not expect that gain to be enough for Ferrari to challenge Red Bull. In Hamilton's view, Red Bull matched Ferrari through the corners and was three to four tenths quicker on the straights.

Ferrari's Austin package includes a new floor, modified sidepods and bodywork intended to reduce drag. Charles Leclerc also tempered expectations: he said the changes were less substantial than the talk around them suggested, called the upgrade a small step and said Ferrari needed the first laps on track to judge whether the expected gain was there.

Leclerc still expected the top four teams to be closely matched. In his view, even a modest update could move a team from fourth to first in that group.

Leclerc then topped first practice by 0.084 seconds over Max Verstappen. Hamilton finished sixth while running the old configuration. Motorsport.com noted that FP1 results are rarely indicative of true pace.