US Grand Prix: The first part of the free races
November 2, 2019The morning of the Friday session turned out to be the coolest during the season – the air temperature did not exceed ten degrees – as in winter tests, then the air and asphalt gradually warmed up.
In Williams, Nicholas Latifi got behind the wheel of George Russell’s car – in the second session, the Briton will be back behind the wheel. Haas F1 tested a new front wing, trying to find the causes of problems with this year’s car.
In the course of the training, the teams were able to test the prototypes of the new tires, they all received a complete set without marking – these are 2020 C4 tires.
McLaren had problems with the car of Carlos Sainz – the Spaniard managed to drive two laps and handed the car over to the mechanics, but soon drove off again – complained about understeer and flew off the track. On the Norris car, the headrest was unfastened, but the mechanics corrected everything.
Latifi’s car lost speed due to problems with the gearbox hydraulics, he drove to the boxes in second gear, left the cockpit and didn’t leave anymore – it was a “Friday” box, so no fines would follow.
Several racers (Hamilton, Verstappen – twice, Leclair, Elbon, Gasli, Stroll, Norris – twice, Magnussen and Kvyat) were canceled the best lap for leaving the track in the 19th turn.
The protocol was headed by Max Verstappen, having traveled a circle for 1: 34.057 – to an absolute record of almost two seconds.
