Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari/4th): Why he’s still trailing Leclerc in Texas

Two free practice sessions for the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) outside Austin, with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc setting the fastest time on both occasions.

Lewis Hamilton came off second best: sixth in the first 60 minutes of practice, fourth in the second. On Friday evening, the seven-time Formula 1 champion from Great Britain took stock of the situation.

Hamilton at COTA: “Not the easiest of days. We tried a different approach to the set-up, but I didn’t feel comfortable with it – certainly not over the bumps.”

“Charles has shown just how much pace there is in the car, so I’ll have to manage to get more out of it on Saturday.”

“Free practice is a good opportunity to experiment a bit with the set-up and deepen our understanding of the car. We’re now working our way through all the data and want to put in a better performance on Saturday.”

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