In an unusual day of Friday practice, the Ferrari driver topped FP2 with a 1m36.810s having been granted use of the 2022 tyres during the session devoted to 2023 Pirelli tyre testing.
Leclerc, along with Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo, were each permitted short stints on the current compounds having sat out FP1 as part of the rookie driver runs for Robert Shwartzman at Ferrari, Theo Pourchaire at Alfa Romeo and Alex Palou at McLaren.
The trio duly topped the FP2 timesheet, ahead of Carlos Sainz who was quickest in first practice and the fastest of the test tyre-only runners.
Meanwhile, Sergio Perez and Zhou Guanyu will both serve grid penalties at the United States GP for engine changes on Friday.
But attention continues to focus to off the track, with Red Bull under the spotlight for its F1 cost cap breach relating to last year. Red Bull remains in negotiation with the FIA over an Accepted Breach Agreement in relation to the 2021 cost cap.
The FIA has also released its report into the Japanese GP crane incident and what changes will come in.
What time does qualifying start for the F1 United States Grand Prix?
Qualifying for the United States GP starts at 5pm local time (11pm BST), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.
Date: Saturday 22nd October 2022
Start time: 5pm local time – 11pm BST
How can I watch Formula 1?
In the United Kingdom Formula 1 is broadcast live on Sky Sports, with highlights shown on Channel 4 several hours after the race has finished. Live streaming through NOW is also available in the UK.
Sky Sports F1, which broadcasts the F1 races, can be added as part of the Sky Sports channels which costs £20 a month for new customers. Sky Sports can also be accessed through NOW with a one-off day payment of £11.98p or a month membership of £33.99p per month.
How can I watch F1 United States GP qualifying?
In the United Kingdom every F1 practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event, with United States GP qualifying coverage starting at 10:00pm BST on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event.
- Channel: Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event
- Start time: 10:00pm BST 22nd October 2022
Autosport will be running a live text coverage of qualifying here.
When can I watch the highlights of F1 United States GP qualifying?
In the United Kingdom Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of qualifying for the United States GP at 08:30am BST on Sunday morning. The full programme will run for 60 minutes, covering both qualifying and wrapping up the major talking points of the race weekend so far.
For the entire 2022 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch up services.
- Channel: Channel 4
- Start time: 8:30am BST 23rd October 2022
Will F1 United States GP qualifying be on the radio?
Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2022 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 5 Live Sports Extra or via the BBC Sport website.
Coverage of United States GP qualifying will start at 11:00pm BST on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and the BBC Sounds app.
What's the weather forecast for qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas?
Hot and dry weather conditions are forecast for Saturday for the start of qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas, with a low chance of rain. The temperature is set to be 31 degrees Celsius at the start of qualifying, six degrees warmer than Japanese GP qualifying last time out.
Full US GP FP2 results:
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
Ferrari | 1'36.810 | ||
| 2 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
Alfa Romeo | 1'37.525 | 0.715 | 0.715 |
| 3 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
McLaren | 1'37.627 | 0.817 | 0.102 |
| 4 |  Carlos Sainz |
 |
Ferrari | 1'38.232 | 1.422 | 0.605 |
| 5 |  Mick Schumacher |
 |
Haas | 1'39.507 | 2.697 | 1.275 |
| 6 |  Lando Norris |
 |
McLaren | 1'39.547 | 2.737 | 0.040 |
| 7 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
Red Bull | 1'39.575 | 2.765 | 0.028 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
Mercedes | 1'39.698 | 2.888 | 0.123 |
| 9 |  Pierre Gasly |
 |
AlphaTauri | 1'39.840 | 3.030 | 0.142 |
| 10 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
Red Bull | 1'39.852 | 3.042 | 0.012 |
| 11 |  Kevin Magnussen |
 |
Haas | 1'40.084 | 3.274 | 0.232 |
| 12 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
AlphaTauri | 1'40.178 | 3.368 | 0.094 |
| 13 | George Russell |
 |
Mercedes | 1'40.562 | 3.752 | 0.384 |
| 14 |  Zhou Guanyu |
 |
Alfa Romeo | 1'40.664 | 3.854 | 0.102 |
| 15 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
Aston Martin | 1'40.806 | 3.996 | 0.142 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon |
 |
Alpine | 1'41.310 | 4.500 | 0.504 |
| 17 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
Alpine | 1'41.334 | 4.524 | 0.024 |
| 18 |  Alex Albon |
 |
Williams | 1'41.853 | 5.043 | 0.519 |
| 19 | Sebastian Vettel |
 |
Aston Martin | 1'41.857 | 5.047 | 0.004 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi |
 |
Williams | 1'42.317 | 5.507 | 0.460 |
| View full results | ||||||
Full US GP FP1 results:
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Sainz |
 |
Ferrari | 1'36.857 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen |
 |
Red Bull | 1'37.081 | 0.224 | 0.224 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton |
|
Mercedes | 1'37.332 | 0.475 | 0.251 |
| 4 | Lance Stroll |
 |
Aston Martin | 1'37.460 | 0.603 | 0.128 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez |
 |
Red Bull | 1'37.515 | 0.658 | 0.055 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
Alpine | 1'37.713 | 0.856 | 0.198 |
| 7 | George Russell |
 |
Mercedes | 1'37.802 | 0.945 | 0.089 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
AlphaTauri | 1'37.810 | 0.953 | 0.008 |
| 9 | Lando Norris |
 |
McLaren | 1'37.856 | 0.999 | 0.046 |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel |
 |
Aston Martin | 1'38.041 | 1.184 | 0.185 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon |
|
Alpine | 1'38.102 | 1.245 | 0.061 |
| 12 | Zhou Guanyu |
 |
Alfa Romeo | 1'38.276 | 1.419 | 0.174 |
| 13 | Alex Albon |
 |
Williams | 1'38.422 | 1.565 | 0.146 |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
AlphaTauri | 1'38.898 | 2.041 | 0.476 |
| 15 | Mick Schumacher |
 |
Haas | 1'38.922 | 2.065 | 0.024 |
| 16 |  Robert Shwartzman |
 |
Ferrari | 1'38.951 | 2.094 | 0.029 |
| 17 | Alex Palou |
 |
McLaren | 1'39.911 | 3.054 | 0.960 |
| 18 | Theo Pourchaire |
 |
Alfa Romeo | 1'40.175 | 3.318 | 0.264 |
| 19 |  Logan Sargeant |
 |
Williams | 1'40.325 | 3.468 | 0.150 |
| 20 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |
|
Haas | 1'43.063 | 6.206 | 2.738 |
| View full results | ||||||
