Hamilton tops Verstappen to lead final practice at US Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton topped the final practice session for the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, outpacing Max Verstappen.
- Headline: Hamilton tops Verstappen to lead final practice at US Grand Prix
- Dispatch Summary: Lewis Hamilton topped the final practice session for the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, outpacing Max Verstappen.
- Verification: Corroborated across independent reporting outlets with primary sources and real-time wire transmissions.
Lewis Hamilton topped the final practice session for the Formula One United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, leading a Ferrari practice sweep in Austin. The 41-year-old seven-time champion clocked a best time of one minute and 34.893 seconds to outpace Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.168 seconds.
Track limits policing dominated the running as a total of 42 laps were ruled out overall, claiming championship leader Kimi Antonelli's quickest effort and several attempts by Friday pacesetter Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen also suffered a wild lock-up, slide and wheelspin moment to end his session, while questioning over team radio why his gearbox gear changes felt so different compared to the previous day.
Hamilton Leads Ferrari Sweep Amid Track Limits Chaos
Ferrari completed a full set of top practice times at Austin as Hamilton took the top spot in Saturday's third and final free practice. Friday pacesetter Leclerc lost a time that had been 0.083 seconds faster than Hamilton, falling to third behind Verstappen after having several laps deleted for exceeding track limits and relying on a medium-tyre time.
Ferrari had also been on top during the longer runs in the first part of the session before teams switched to qualifying simulations on soft tyres. Hamilton expressed his frustration with Gabriel Bortoleto over a traffic incident, which will be looked at by the stewards.
Leclerc was far from the only driver to fall foul of the circuit rules. Antonelli and both McLaren drivers were among the high-profile transgressors during a wild number of laptime deletions.
| Position | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1m34.893s |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.168s |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.234s |
| 4 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.303s |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.488s |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.638s |
| 7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +0.698s |
| 8 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.813s |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.011s |
| 10 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +1.037s |
Antonelli Faces Title Hurdles in Texas
Kimi Antonelli faces a Ferrari-shaped threat to his championship hopes in Texas, finishing fourth-fastest after his best lap was deleted for a breach of track limits. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver leads George Russell by 102 points in the standings with only 150 left up for grabs ahead of the weekend.
Obviously, I'm in an incredible position,
Antonelli said ahead of the weekend.
But, of course, I still have to keep going, and the mindset is always the same: whenever I go on track, I want to be at the top and try to win as much as possible. Whether I win the championship this weekend, next weekend [Mexico] or in Brazil. Let's see. But it's not over until it's over,
Antonelli added.
The first part of that equation looks set to be a challenge as his rivals showed their prowess in the final running ahead of qualifying. Antonelli finished one place ahead of his Mercedes teammate and nearest title rival George Russell.
Midfield Battles and Traffic Troubles at COTA
Behind the front-runners, Oscar Piastri was sixth-fastest for McLaren, while laptime deletions helped Nico Hulkenberg get Audi as high as seventh, splitting the McLarens with Lando Norris rounding out the top eight. Pierre Gasly and Isack Hadjar completed the top ten.
Liam Lawson finished 11th for Racing Bulls, narrowly missing the top ten after making a strong start to the session. The Kiwi briefly led the field on his opening flying lap, posting a 1:36.420 on medium-compound tyres before slipping down the order as drivers switched to soft tyres for qualifying simulations.
Lawson's teammate Arvid Lindblad finished 12th, just over a tenth behind him. Both Racing Bulls drivers spent much of the session in the garage, completing relatively few laps compared to several rivals before returning to the circuit with just over two minutes remaining for one final qualifying simulation.
Traffic incidents also disrupted the session alongside track limits. Isack Hadjar had plenty of complaints over team radio, including an impeding incident involving Alex Albon that appeared to stem from a big mistake by Hadjar that carried him towards the slower-going Williams. Qualifying for Sunday's race goes green at 10 p.m. BST / 5 p.m. ET.
