F1 United States GP: Lewis Hamilton pips Max Verstappen in FP3

Lewis Hamilton finished final practice on top at Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix, leading Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc into qualifying at Austin.

Hamilton was the only driver to break the 1m35s barrier in the final 20 minutes of third practice, as frequent track limits transgressions kept Ferrari team-mate Leclerc from leapfrogging him on the leaderboard.

Following an opening quarter of the session which can only be described as pedestrian, action picked up as Hamilton set a 1m36.716s on softs to get ahead of a number of medium-tyred install laps.

His time was soon beaten by Liam Lawson in the Racing Bulls and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, while several heavy hitters kept turning laps on medium tyres instead.

Verstappen even went top courtesy of a 1m35.702s on the yellow sidewall tyre, despite recurring complaints about his unsettling downshifts.

Hamilton swiftly improved upon the Dutchman’s lap, using softs to set a 1m35.561s. But when Leclerc took over command with a 1m35.127s despite using the slower mediums, that underlined there was still a lot more pace to find.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Anni Graf – Formula 1 via Getty Images

Entering the final 20 minutes, Antonelli took a tenth out of Leclerc’s time on softs, but his lap was scratched for breaking track limits at Turn 9.

Verstappen did adhere to the white lines to set a 1m35.061s and go top, with Red Bull the quickest car through sector one, only for Hamilton to dip below the 1m35s barrier with a 1m34.893s.

Track limits, which have been a recurring theme throughout practice, also kept Leclerc from reclaiming first as he dipped over the white line at Turn 10.

That meant the Monegasque had to settle for third behind Hamilton and Verstappen, setting up a finely poised qualifying session on Saturday afternoon.

Championship leader Antonelli was fourth ahead of Mercedes team-mate George Russell, as the Silver Arrows appears to be a half-step behind on pure pace, with Piastri sixth in the difficult to tame MCL40.

In the Audi, Nico Hulkenberg kept McLaren’s Lando Norris from seventh, with the world champion’s 1m35.2s also deleted for track limits at Turn 10.

Alpine driver Pierre Gasly was ninth, a full second behind Hamilton, with Isack Hadjar 10th in the second Red Bull as the Frenchman was left frustrated by his car’s handling.

Photos from F1 United States GP – Saturday

United States GP – Saturday, in photos

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