Sebastian Vettel once again topped the final practice session for the United States Grand Prix, putting him in the best possible position for qualifying.
The German’s best lap, a 1:36.490, was the best of the weekend so far by some distance as the track clearly begins to rubber in.
Lewis Hamilton was second quickest ahead of Williams’s Pastor Maldonado and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
FP3 Results for the 2012 United States Grand Prix:
| # | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 1 | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:36.490 | 18 | |
| 02 | 4 | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:36.748 | 0.258 | 20 |
| 03 | 18 | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:37.001 | 0.511 | 21 |
| 04 | 5 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:37.180 | 0.690 | 21 |
| 05 | 8 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:37.247 | 0.757 | 24 |
| 06 | 6 | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:37.262 | 0.772 | 27 |
| 07 | 2 | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:37.298 | 0.808 | 18 |
| 08 | 15 | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:37.415 | 0.925 | 20 |
| 09 | 12 | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:37.495 | 1.005 | 20 |
| 10 | 3 | J. Button | McLaren | 1:37.538 | 1.048 | 20 |
| 11 | 19 | B. Senna | Williams | 1:37.569 | 1.079 | 21 |
| 12 | 7 | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:37.760 | 1.270 | 21 |
| 13 | 9 | K. Räikkönen | Lotus | 1:37.765 | 1.275 | 26 |
| 14 | 14 | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:37.953 | 1.463 | 23 |
| 15 | 16 | D. Ricciardo | STR | 1:38.547 | 2.057 | 23 |
| 16 | 11 | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:38.653 | 2.163 | 22 |
| 17 | 10 | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:38.753 | 2.263 | 11 |
| 18 | 17 | J. Vergne | STR | 1:39.689 | 3.199 | 12 |
| 19 | 24 | T. Glock | Marussia | 1:40.407 | 3.917 | 23 |
| 20 | 21 | V. Petrov | Caterham | 1:40.753 | 4.263 | 19 |
| 21 | 20 | H. Kovalainen | Caterham | 1:41.011 | 4.521 | 19 |
| 22 | 25 | C. Pic | Marussia | 1:41.466 | 4.976 | 19 |
| 23 | 22 | P. de la Rosa | HRT | 1:43.563 | 7.073 | 21 |
| 24 | 23 | N. Karthikeyan | HRT | 1:44.043 | 7.553 | 23 |
