P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Carlos Sainz will have his work cut out for him for the remainder of the race weekend.
Carlos Sainz had to cut short his FP1 session at the Circuit of the Americas due to a gearbox problem. With just nine laps completed, this marks his only practice run for the weekend with sprint qualifying scheduled for later today. Sainz returned to the pits halfway through the session after being informed of a potential gearbox issue. Williams confirmed that Sainz had to end his session early but assured that it should not affect his participation in sprint qualifying. A statement from the team mentioned that they are looking into the gearbox problem that Sainz encountered and that he will be ready for sprint qualifying. It is worth noting that Sainz topped FP1 at the US Grand Prix for Ferrari last year.
