F1 United States Grand Prix qualifying predictions; free Formula 1 betting tips

Free F1 tips, best bets and analysis for Saturday's United States Grand Prix qualifying session at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Where to watch

Practice three Sky Sports F1, 8pm Saturday

Qualifying Sky Sports F1 11pm Saturday

Best bet

Charles Leclerc fastest qualifier
1pt 6-1 general

Qualifying preview

It's almost a cliche that Friday practice shouldn't be considered a reliable form guide in Formula 1, but the first day of running at the United States Grand Prix was particularly lacking in clues for punters.

The opening hour featured four rookie drivers, including Ferrari prospect Robert Schwartzman taking over from Charles Leclerc, as well as Antonio Giovinazzi making a cameo appearance for his old team Alfa Romeo.

Carlos Sainz topped the session for the Scuderia ahead of newly crowned world champion Max Verstappen, but the Circuit of the Americas is often particularly dusty on the first day. The surface of the track will evolve over the weekend as more F1 rubber is laid down, changing its characteristics.

Second practice was extended to 90 minutes, but the teams were forced to use a prototype of next year's Pirelli tyres and run to a very specific program.

In general terms, first practice is used to fine-tune settings and bed the cars in, while the second session sees simulated race running, but in Texas the teams will have been able to gather no meaningful data on Friday afternoon.

The five regular drivers who missed out on running in the morning - Leclerc, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Nicholas Latifi - were allowed half an hour of usual running in the afternoon before joining the tyre test.

While clues were in short supply, it was noticeable that the Ferrari seemed to cope better with the bumpy surface than the Red Bull, and despite missing his first hour of running Leclerc looks a value bet for pole position against the odds-on Verstappen.

The Monegasque has two poles and two second-place starts from the last four races.

And while his Singapore pole was a lucky one given Verstappen was forced to abandon a much faster lap, Leclerc was on course to go comfortably fastest in the Netherlands before making a mistake.

Red Bull have shown they're well capable of overcoming any early issues, but at the prices Leclerc makes plenty of appeal considering he is the season's best qualifier overall.

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