Key Highlights:
- Lewis Hamilton led Free Practice 3 with a 1m 34.893s lap, completing a Ferrari clean sweep of all three practice sessions at the United States Grand Prix.
- Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second, while Charles Leclerc dropped to third after seeing his fastest lap scrubbed due to track limits violations.
- Mercedes secured the fourth and fifth positions with Kimi Antonelli and George Russell ahead of the crucial Saturday afternoon qualifying session.
Hamilton Surges to Front in Final Austin Practice
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton closed out the third and final practice session for the United States Grand Prix at the summit of the timesheets, leading Red Bull driver Max Verstappen and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. Hamilton became the sole runner to break into the 1m 34s barrier, posting an ultimate benchmark of 1m 34.893s on the soft compound tyre. The pace confirmed a clean sweep of the Austin practice sessions for Scuderia Ferrari, building upon Leclerc’s chart-topping efforts throughout Friday’s running at the Circuit of The Americas.
The session got underway quietly at 12:30 local time, with only Cadillac’s Sergio Perez, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto venturing out on track initially. Bortoleto and Colapinto are already slated to carry grid penalties into Sunday’s Grand Prix, while Perez returned to the cockpit after sitting out Free Practice 1 to allow Colton Herta track time for the American outfit. Once the frontrunning teams joined the action, Verstappen took an early turn atop the order with a 1m 35.702s run on medium tyres, serving as an early challenge after Leclerc had warned against any high expectations
with other rivals having more to unlock
.
Track Limits Drama and Pit Lane Controversy
Enforcement of track limits once again disrupted proceedings following the deletion of 128 laps in Free Practice 2. Early laps from McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Leclerc were chalked off, while Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli also had a potential session-topping push lap erased following an infraction at Turn 9, prompting his race engineer Pete Bonnington to remark, you were doing so well.
Leclerc appeared poised to secure first place late in the session after recording a flying lap that marginally edged out Hamilton, but race control similarly invalidated the effort for track limits, dropping the Monegasque driver to third.
Off-track friction also drew the attention of race control midway through FP3. Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg found himself involved in an incident with Lance Stroll in the pit lane; replays showed Stroll’s Aston Martin travelling down the fast lane just as Hulkenberg initiated a practice start after moving off to the side. Stewards quickly confirmed that the confrontation would be investigated following the completion of the session.
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Final Timesheet Standings Ahead of Qualifying
Behind the top three of Hamilton, Verstappen, and Leclerc, the Mercedes duo of Antonelli—who could seal his maiden title this weekend—and George Russell occupied fourth and fifth on the soft compound. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri secured sixth ahead of Audi’s Hulkenberg in seventh. Norris, who had noted on Friday how difficult his MCL40 was to handle, ended the session in eighth, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar rounding out the top ten.
Further down the field, Racing Bulls drivers Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad took 11th and 12th, with the rookie Lindblad joining the list of competitors facing grid demotions on Sunday. Bortoleto, Ollie Bearman, Colapinto, and Fernando Alonso took positions 13 through 16, followed by Esteban Ocon and Stroll. Williams suffered a difficult outing with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz languishing in 19th and 20th, while Cadillac teammates Perez and Valtteri Bottas completed the order in 21st and 22nd.
Why This Matters
Ferrari’s consistent dominance across all three practice sessions establishes the Italian team as the primary benchmark heading into the competitive phase of the United States Grand Prix weekend. However, the prevalence of track limits deletions across FP2 and FP3 indicates that single-lap execution in qualifying will carry severe risks. With Verstappen finding competitive pace on various compounds and Antonelli chasing a title-deciding outcome, track discipline at Turn 9 and beyond will likely dictate grid positioning ahead of Sunday’s race.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who set the fastest lap time in Free Practice 3?
Lewis Hamilton went fastest for Ferrari with a lap time of 1m 34.893s on the soft tyre compound, edging out Max Verstappen.
Why was Charles Leclerc demoted to third place?
Although Leclerc briefly set a lap time fast enough to rival Hamilton for the top spot, the time was deleted by race officials due to a track limits violation.
Which incident went under investigation by the stewards during FP3?
The stewards launched an investigation into a pit lane altercation involving Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, after Hulkenberg launched into a practice start while Stroll was traversing the fast lane.
