Lewis Hamilton topped the final practice session of the United States Grand Prix weekend. Setting a 1m 34.893s to lead Max Verstappen by 0.168s. Charles Leclerc was third, 0.234s off his teammate.
The session started quietly. Sergio Pérez, Gabriel Bortoleto and Franco Colapinto were first out, while most front-running drivers waited for the track to rubber in. Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas soon joined, and Bortoleto pitted without setting a time.
Hamilton was the first of the top four teams’ drivers to venture out, and he did so on softs, suggesting Ferrari were focused on one-lap pace ahead of qualifying. Lando Norris followed on the same compound, while Verstappen ran mediums.
It was another frustrating session for Verstappen, who complained about his gear shifts over the radio. New race engineer Tom Hart appeared unfazed, and the Dutchman made a brief stop for a front wing change.
By the halfway mark, Ferrari looked the team to beat, running strongly on both softs and mediums, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli and Verstappen their closest challengers.
Mercedes switched both cars to softs in the final 20 minutes. Antonelli’s first flying lap of 1m 35.015s briefly put him top, with George Russell third, 0.366s behind, but the time was deleted for track limits.
With 15 minutes left, Hamilton went quickest. A slower first sector was followed by the fastest second sector of the session and a personal best in the third, giving him the first 1m 34s lap of the session. It looked like he had kept something in the tyres for the end of the lap.
Verstappen’s session ended untidily. In the final two minutes, a snap of oversteer sent him into a single-wheel spin before he gathered it up, a sign Red Bull still has a lot of work to do.
With 42 track limit infringements in FP3, staying within the white lines could decide qualifying.
READ MORE – F1 2026 US GP – FP3 Results
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