F1 Results Today: Ferrari suffer early disaster as McLarens separated by surprise name

Ferrari's early excitement at Lewis Hamilton's pace at the United States Grand Prix was tempered within an hour, with Charles Leclerc appearing to suffer a major mechanical issue.

After Hamilton set the fastest lap of the early running, Leclerc was forced to abandon his qualifying simulation run late in the session, complaining on the radio that he was unable to shift into seventh gear and that he could smell oil – being pulled into the pits and stepping out of his Ferrari.

Meanwhile, Lando Norris laid down an early marker at the United States Grand Prix on Friday, setting the fastest time in the lone practice session and gapping his team-mate Oscar Piastri by more than a quarter of a second in their first on-track action since their squabble in Singapore.

The papaya cars are right in the thick of a championship fight with just six grands prix to go, with Max Verstappen snapping at their heels and waiting for either McLaren to falter.

The session was briefly red flagged after about 20 minutes when some debris came of Lance Stroll's Aston Martin at Turn 19, pausing the session to retrieve the loose object safely.

A couple of other drivers had some technical issues of their own, Carlos Sainz being brought in less than halfway through the session with a gearbox issue and Esteban Ocon having to head to the pits with an unspecified issue not long after.

READ MORE: American track dropped as F1 confirm 2026 sprint schedule

F1 FP1 Results: United States Grand Prix 2025

Who is the current F1 world champion?

Max Verstappen is the reigning F1 champion, and won his fourth drivers' championship last year.

Is there F1 today?

Yes, sprint qualifying will take place later today at 5pm (ET), while the sprint race will take place on Saturday, October 18 at 1pm (ET). You can find all the timings and where to watch in your region here.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen reveals reason he'd make Ferrari F1 switch

Related