Carlos Sainz set the fastest time ahead of Max Verstappen in the opening practice for the 2022 United States Grand Prix, with four drivers making their FP1 debut at Austin.

Ferrari driver Sainz set the fastest time of 1m 36.857s with Red Bull’s champion Verstappen jumping to second late on, 0.224s off the Spaniard’s pace. Lewis Hamilton therefore finished third, just under half a second off the pace in a Mercedes sporting its final major upgrade package of the season.

Lance Stroll finished fourth for Aston Martin, leaving Red Bull driver Sergio Perez – who will receive a grid penalty for his fifth internal combustion engine of the season – rounding out the top five.

Seven minutes into the session, Giovinazzi’s Haas swapped ends and he hit the barriers outside Turn 6 with the right-hand side of his car, bringing out a brief red flag. The Italian driver managed to get his car going again and limp back to the pits – but a damaged clutch left him last on the timesheets and out of the session.

Fernando Alonso finished sixth for Alpine with Mercedes’ George Russell just under a tenth behind in P7 for Mercedes, and Pierre Gasly another 0.008s back in P8 for AlphaTauri.