McLaren struggles with grip in Austin practice

In the first free‑practice session at the Circuit of the Americas, Oscar Piastri finished seventh, only 0.734s behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who topped the times. Lando Norris was the fastest McLaren driver in FP1, coming in third just 0.245s off Leclerc. In the second session, both McLaren drivers dropped to seventh and eighth, with Norris slightly ahead of Piastri, and the gap to the leaders increased to more than a second.

Grip struggles dominate the day

Grip problems dominated the day for McLaren. Piastri admitted the car’s handling was the biggest weakness, noting that “the main thing we’re struggling with is grip, so we have work to do on that side of things.” He finished FP2 over a second slower than Leclerc and recorded 10 track‑limit infringements, while Norris had five in the opening hour. The team’s updates included new front and rear corner furniture and a revised diffuser.

Technical reviews from the McLaren camp highlighted that the team had tested small changes to suspension, brake ducts and aerodynamics during Friday’s practice. Chief Technical Officer Rob Marshall said the long runs were positive and the minor updates were delivering the expected performance, but he added that the car still struggled in the low‑speed corners of the track, a key area for the MCL40.

McLaren will have a final practice session on Saturday before qualifying. The team plans to analyse the data overnight, focusing on targeted adjustments rather than radical changes, hoping to bring the car’s grip and pace closer to the front‑running teams for the United States Grand Prix grid.