Newly crowned triple world champion Max Verstappen led the way in the sole Practice session at the United States Grand Prix.

As Formula 1 holds back-to-back Sprint weekends for the first time, the Dutchman produced a flawless session to lead Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in second.

But it was Mercedes that caught the eye, as Lewis Hamilton showed a strong pace in his upgraded Black Arrow in third.

In fact, Hamilton led the way after the first runs as Mercedes introduced a new floor designed with an eye on next year's W15.

The seven-time world champion pipped Verstappen by a tenth of a second on hard tyres, as Lando Norris slotted into third on the medium compound.

Along with a special livery, Haas has brought a significant upgrade to Austin, shifting closer to the sidepod concept pioneered by Red Bull and others.

Kevin Magnussen hinted at early promise in fifth, just behind Yuki Tsunoda in fourth for AlphaTauri, who was three-tenths faster than the returning Daniel Ricciardo.

The infamous bumps at the Circuit of the Americas were a big topic for the drivers, with some struggling with bouncing on the straights.

Brake problems limited Lance Stroll to five laps as the Canadian's frustrating run continued, while Qatar Sprint winner Oscar Piastri narrowly avoided the barriers after running wide at Turn 10.

Teammate Norris briefly went quickest on his second run before Alex Albon put Williams on top by seven-tenths after being the first team onto soft tyres.

That triggered a flurry of fast laps on the red-striped rubber in the final 10 minutes, led by Verstappen who went fastest on a 1m35.912s.

Hamilton went purple in Sectors 1 and 2 but couldn't sustain it in the final sector as he went third, behind Charles Leclerc in second for Ferrari.

Sergio Perez finished three-tenths behind Max in fourth. Magnussen continued Haas' promising start in fifth, ahead of George Russell in the second Mercedes.

Albon slipped to P7, followed by Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly rounding out the top 10 for Alpine.

F1's sole American driver, Logan Sargeant, was 11th, Esteban Ocon took P12, pipping the AlphaTauris of Tsunoda and Ricciardo.

Norris was only 15th after McLaren opted not to do a soft tyre run with either driver, ahead of the Alfa Romeo duo of Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas.

Fernando Alonso likewise concentrated on long run pace in 18th, as Piastri and Stroll wrapped up the timesheet.