Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) a été le plus rapide de la première séance d’essais libres à Austin au Texas. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) est 2e. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) est 3e et Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) est 4e. On retrouve ensuite Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) qui pilotera en 2017 pour Renault. Valtteri Bottas a fait le 6e temps
| Pos | Pilote | Temps | Écart | Tours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:37.428 | 25 | ||
| 2 | 1:37.743 | +0.315s | 27 | |
| 3 | 1:39.379 | +1.951s | 28 | |
| 4 | 1:39.407 | +1.979s | 21 | |
| 5 | 1:39.712 | +2.284s | 27 | |
| 6 | 1:39.776 | +2.348s | 30 | |
| 7 | 1:39.963 | +2.535s | 26 | |
| 8 | 1:39.988 | +2.560s | 15 | |
| 9 | 1:40.131 | +2.703s | 16 | |
| 10 | 1:40.140 | +2.712s | 26 | |
| 11 | 1:40.191 | +2.763s | 27 | |
| 12 | 1:40.287 | +2.859s | 16 | |
| 13 | 1:40.362 | +2.934s | 26 | |
| 14 | 1:40.826 | +3.398s | 15 | |
| 15 | 1:40.970 | +3.542s | 15 | |
| 16 | 1:41.170 | +3.742s | 17 | |
| 17 | 1:41.422 | +3.994s | 27 | |
| 18 | 1:41.663 | +4.235s | 21 | |
| 19 | 1:41.942 | +4.514s | 22 | |
| 20 | 1:42.012 | +4.584s | 29 | |
| 21 | 1:42.332 | +4.904s | 31 | |
| 22 | 1:43.874 | +6.446s | 27 |