WHAT THE TEAMS SAID – FRIDAY IN THE UNITED STATES

Leclerc owned Friday at COTA, topping both sessions while Ferrari's upgrades delivered exactly what the team expected. But the real surprise came from Antonelli, who shook off a ragged FP1 to sit P2 in the afternoon, just 0.042 seconds off the Ferrari's pace as Mercedes' update package finally clicked into place.

Verstappen ran P2 and P3, losing one lap to track limits but keeping Red Bull in the hunt for pole. Hamilton, meanwhile, struggled with setup direction and couldn't match his teammate's rhythm over the bumps. Hadjar had a day to forget in the second Red Bull, calling his laps "disgusting" on the radio and finishing ninth in FP2.

The top four teams are separated by half a second. Ferrari has the edge for now, but Mercedes' rookie just proved the Silver Arrows have race-winning pace at the Circuit of the Americas. Tomorrow's qualifying will sort out who can actually unlock it.