The first and only US Grand Prix practice session was an exciting hour and very important for particular teams in order to test their new upgrades.

McLaren revealed a number of updates on the MCL38 to improve its chances in the constructors' championship battle against Red Bull that also brought upgrades to the Circuit of the Americas.

The resurfaced track also added to the challenge, causing some instability across the field. Drivers reported bumps and cars bottoming out, particularly at Turn 4.

Daniel Ricciardo has been replaced by Liam Lawson in RB. The New Zealander faces a big challenge as he has only one practice session to adapt to a circuit, he has never raced at. On top of that, he’ll get a 10-place penalty for the sprint race due to a new engine.

The session offered a few big moments for some drivers. Pierre Gasly and George Russell both spun in Turn 1 as the new tarmac was still very dirty.

Both Mercedes drivers complained about lack of grip throughout the whole session, with Lewis Hamilton also having his moment after being forced off the track by the bump at Turn 4 but managed to avoid a collision with Nico Hulkenberg.

Guanyu Zhou suffered technical problems again as he had to head back to the pits after reporting ‘no power’ of his Sauber over the radio.

Oscar Piastri nearly crashed into the wall while entering the pit lane at too high a speed. Shortly after, the pit lane entry was temporarily closed with a deployment of a virtual safety car six minutes before the end of the session. The Australian driver received a black-and-white for the incident.

Ferrari drivers, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc set the pace in the first practice, finishing first and second, respectively.

Max Verstappen finished close behind in third, followed by his biggest championship rival Lando Norris, who was only 0.013s slower than the Dutchman. The second McLaren of Oscar Piastri completed the top 5.

Since Austin is a sprint event this year, this was the only practice session of the weekend, with sprint qualifying scheduled for later today.