Hamilton sets pace in final practice of US Grand Prix

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was the final pacesetter of practice at the United States Grand Prix, prompting a Ferrari clean sweep of fastest laps.

Feature image credit: By Courtesy of Pirelli

Ferrari look to be on the pace at the Circuit of the Americas. At least that’s what Practice is saying after Ferrari completed a clean sweep of fastest laps from FP1 to FP3, with Charles Leclerc claiming two fastest laps on Friday and Hamilton taking the best time in FP3, on Saturday.

Hamilton finished the final hour of practice with the fastest time, 1m 34.893s, 0.168 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Leclerc, who finished second and third, respectively.

The seven-time world champion came out onto the track, within the first 15 minutes, puffing of smoke, shortly followed by the rest of the pack with the two Alpine’s and Cadillac’s Sergio Perez already circulating the circuit.

Hards to play ‘limited role’ at F1 United States Grand Prix with one-stop likely

However, the smoke was not a problem as Hamilton remained out on track, running data-gathering runs equipped with the flo-vis paint on his car.

There was a moment in the pit lane, as Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg conducted a practice start at the end of the pit lane. However, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was on his way down in the fast lane as the German bolted away, forcing the Canadian to hit the brakes.

The incident is set to be investigated in between FP3 and qualifying.

So, who finished where after the final hour of practice at COTA?

Practice 3 classification

1. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari – 1m 34.893s
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 Racing +1.037s
11. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +1.038s
12. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls +1.188s
13. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi +1.283s
14. Oliver Bearman, Haas +1.342s
15. Franco Colapinto, Alpine +1.358s
16. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +1.562s
17. Esteban Ocon, Haas +1.849s
18. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +2.238s
19. Alexander Albon, Williams +2.775s
20. Carlos Sainz, Williams +2.818s
21. Sergio Perez, Cadillac +2.991s
22. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac +3.872s

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.